Gotham: Quarantine
by GraysonandQuinn
Summary: One year after a deadly virus was unleashed by one of earth's most revered heroes, little remains of life as it was. Gotham would have fallen with the rest of the world then, too, if it hadn't been for the Batman, and all that remains now is survival- if they die, one of the last civilizations on earth will perish, and humanity along with it.
1. The One Where They've Never Met

Jason Todd set two glasses on the surface of the card table, and Dick Grayson looked up. Jason pushed aside the items that Dick had set out to prepare for patrol with a half empty bottle of scotch.

"Swan Queen won't come out of the lab, and the little devil is with his old man, so it's just the two of us," Jason told Dick. "Thought we could do a little celebrating."

Narrowing his eyes, Dick glanced down at the glasses. "Where did you find this? Does the 'old man' know you have it?" He again looked up at his brother, leaning back in his chair. The dim light in the room cast a shadow over Jason's strong features as he took his Red Hood helmet off, and he placed it on the table as he sat in the chair across from Dick. He still wore his mask underneath his helmet, a habit he'd picked up.

"The almighty Bat doesn't need to know everything." Jason poured a measure into each glass. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want it. I'm not wasting this on someone who isn't going to appreciate it."

"Oh I can appreciate it," Dick laughed a little, putting down the tranquilizer gun that he'd been cleaning and taking a glass, examining it in his hands. He didn't have to ask what they were celebrating. Every citizen in Gotham had kept tallies on their walls as the days went past.

Today marked three hundred and sixty-five.

"One year and we're not dead," Jason raised his glass, "although I'm not sure if that's actually a good thing."

"It's a good thing," Dick reassured them both quietly, tapping his glass to Jason's, the glasses clinking quietly before he took a sip and grimaced, nodding a bit. "Good scotch, too," he chuckled.

"Well it's had time to age." Jason shrugged before taking another swig from his own glass. They sat in silence in the large room, once an executive office of some kind with placid beige walls and floor to ceiling panoramic windows. The sparse furniture- a queen sized bed with nothing but a comforter and a couple of pillows on it, the card table and chairs where the two men sat, and a large mahogany desk pushed against the far wall- made the wide office seem as empty as the room of a dollhouse.

"It feels like longer than a year," Dick said quietly.

"It looks like more than a year, Gramps," Jason taunted, smirking.

"Shut up," Dick laughed. "Have you seen Bruce? He's rocking the hairline gray," he finished off his scotch, replacing the glass on the table.

"I'm sure Selina would be too," Jason added, "but I'm willing to bet she has a connection on supply run for hair dye."

"Yeah, Selina looks as good as ever. Bruce is a lucky guy." Dick looked up at the ceiling, and then back down at the watch on his wrist. "We've got time," he sighed, glancing at the door.

"I'm patrolling Downtown today. What's your gig?" Jason asked as he finished off his drink. His previous shift had come in early, so he'd stopped in to visit Dick on the end of his break.

"Arkham duty, in Uptown," Dick replied, crossing his arms and staring at the table. "With Kate and Damian."

"That's sure to be a lively party," Jason snorted. "I'm with Batgirl, Jr., but I'm also with that police officer." Jason nodded at him.

"Oh?" Dick raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"I'm not on bridge duty, but maybe I can build one." He smirked.

"Hell, I say go for it," Dick stood and stretched, turning to the panoramic windows. The sun was rising steadily over Gotham City outside, sparkling on the water surrounding the island. "Why would she turn you down? You're more of a hero to the people now than you ever were. We all are," he laughed. The only light in the room was provided by the sunrise outside, painting the walls and surfaces amber. The room's emptiness was only emphasized by the lone folding table and chairs in the center of it.

Jason smiled bitterly. "What's the point of being a hero in a city you can't save?"

"The idea is to be a hero to the people you can save," Dick looked at him pointedly, his deep, clear blue eyes contrasted sharply against the orange backdrop. "We can't save everyone, but what we do matters to the people we can save."

"Well as long as one of them's that police officer, I'm fine with that. And you never know," Jason stretched, "I could not make it through to tomorrow. Although… it would be really embarrassing if one of you had to put me down," he mused.

"We don't-" Dick cut himself off, running his hand through his hair. "Never mind. We'll be fine. You'll be fine, just don't go charging off into battle, okay?" he laughed, shaking his head. "Not without me."

"I won't go now, but I am on city patrol remember? You are getting old, Gramps. Do we need to take you out of rotation?"

"Jason, I'm only twenty-seven!" Dick laughed. "You're not exactly the kid you once were, either," he pointed out, picking up his tranquilizer gun and holstering it at his left hip.

"I know," Jason mock sighed, "dying will do that to you."

"At least now you can legally drink that scotch."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Say hi to Barbara for me." He kicked his legs up onto the table and saluted. Dick smiled a little as he put his mask on, tucked away everything that he had scattered across the table in their rightful pockets, and then walked out into the hall of Wayne Tower. He still remembered strolling through this building when it was bustling with life and scored with the sounds of telephones ringing and people talking. Working. Now it remained eerily silent as he walked down the long hallway to the elevator and got on. It was little things like that that he missed. The conversation and thrum of life, hearing a radio in the background; the traffic outside of the building. All gone now. As the elevator dropped and opened on the first of the underground floors where Barbara worked in the Research and Development labs, Dick shoved his hands in his pockets and thought about a year ago. It hadn't been so quiet then, and it had annoyed him. Now he'd give anything to hear a jet engine as it left the Gotham airport, or the thunder of the trains through the city. Still, he couldn't complain.

Gotham was better off than the rest of the world.

He knocked on the frosted glass door before entering his code into the keypad and stepping into the lab.

"Batgirl?" he called quietly, glancing around at the other scientists working in silence around the wide room. Fluorescent lights in the ceiling illuminated the metal tables and scientific instruments in an unnaturally pure white glow.

"Just a second." Barbara Gordon held up one finger, not looking away from her computer. Dick waited patiently as he leaned against her desk. When she finally looked up he smiled, his eyes hidden behind the lenses of his mask. "Are you getting ready for patrol?" she asked and glanced at the clock before smiling back. The black bulletproof Batgirl cowl over her face didn't detract from her beauty, her red hair tumbling over her shoulder from under the mask. Her white regulation lab coat was over her black and violet Batgirl jacket, and she wore jeans and boots. They all dressed more casually than they used to. It was substance over style nowadays, and none of them could argue.

"Yeah, guard duty tonight, patrol tomorrow, and then supply. I thought I'd come say goodbye to you first." He pulled a chair away from a table nearby and turned it around, sitting down and resting his arms on the back. "How's it coming?"

"The same as always," she sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "too slow."

"Explain it to me. Maybe that will make it seem less slow. You have to have made advances by now," he quietly reassured her, resting his chin on his arms.

"What do you want me to explain?" she asked in frustration. "That we can't figure out how to make the cure? That people are dying, and we're not any closer to helping them than we were a year ago?" She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Hey." She felt his hand on her back. "Don't be sorry. You're doing what you can."

"Dick," she breathed, "it's been a year. A whole year since the outbreak. We know where it came from, why, and what causes it, but we can't cure it. Do you know how frustrating that is?"

"I know. Yet, from your perspective, working on a cure… I can't imagine. I'm sorry, Babs," he whispered, smoothing the red hair falling down her back from her cowl. "All we can do is keep trying."

"Yeah." After a second, she seemed to mentally shake herself. "So how is it out in the streets? Has the horror improved?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not by much. But the sunrise was gorgeous today." Dick smiled at her, cocking his head a bit.

"At least when anything could happen, we can count on the sun rising and making you turn gushy." She pinched his cheek and laughed. Dick laughed as well, and a couple of the scientists looked up at them before continuing on with their work. The brightly lit, unnaturally clean lab was a stark difference from the gritty world outside, but no less unsettling.

"Always," he agreed, and then glanced at his watch. "Damn. I'm running out of time." Looking back up at Barbara, he sighed. "I never want to go to work, but when I'm there I don't mind it. It's just the ticking down to the time comes that is awful."

"Speak for yourself," she smiled, "I hate my job. Wanna trade?"

He laughed. "You know I'd never be able to do your job. I'd get bored here. Not that you don't..." he looked around her desk at the hand-taken notes and carefully catalogued samples. "They'd kick me out of here before I touched anything."

"They did tell me they were petitioning for a sign to be made showing your face with an 'X' through it," she laughed.

"I know, because I break things and I distract you," he snorted, watching her laugh. He was glad that he could still make her laugh. Some things never do change, Dick thought.

"They hide all the samples when you come in. You may be able to do a triple flip, but they think you're going to trip and fall all over everything." Barbara shot him a glance, smiling.

"Quadruple flip. And tell you what," Dick smiled broadly, "next time, you come see me." He ran a hand through his dark hair falling down to his shoulders.

"You mean leave the hole I've dug for myself here? Impossible. They'd steal my stash of gummy worms." Barbara smiled at him.

"Are you running low? I could grab more next time I go on supply run," he grinned, pulling open the drawer where she kept the bag of candy to take a piece.

"No, but you know to keep an eye out for Kit-Kats. I've been out since the day you brought the last of them to me."

"Promise," he agreed, standing up and shoving a gummy worm in his mouth. "I'd better get going. See you in a few days," he sighed, taking his gloves out of his pockets and pulling them on.

"And I'll dumb all this science stuff down for you," she told him. "So don't die or I won't get to make you feel stupid."

"How can I die when I don't know the secret of the science stuff?" he joked, and then in one swift motion he'd pulled her out of her chair and hugged her tight. "Keep at it, Babs. You'll get it."

"I will as long as you promise to come home." She hugged him back. Dick kissed her cheek, and Barbara smiled.

"Promise. I'm going to say a quick hello to Tim, and I'll see you in a couple of days," Dick smiled reassuringly, and then hesitated beside her desk. "And Batgirl?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Boy Wonder, I know," she smiled, rolling her eyes. "Now get out of here."

Dick grinned before walking across the room to a secluded desk in the corner, half separated by a single standing cubicle wall. He knocked on the desk, and when the figure bent over it didn't respond, Dick put his hand over the paper that his brother was scribbling on. Tim Drake looked up at him furiously.

"Oh, it's you," he relaxed a bit, and then pushed Dick's hand out of the way.

"I've missed you too, baby brother," Dick said enthusiastically, walking around the desk to look over his shoulder.

"What time is it?" Tim asked, rubbing the back of his neck. His dark hair stuck out of the bottom of his black mask, which covered the top of his head and tied in the back with cut out holes for the eyes.

"It's time for you to seriously eat something or you're going to die," Stephanie Brown declared as she marched around the cubicle wall. She dropped a covered plate onto his desk and then pulled the violet bandanna around her mouth down, her golden hair tumbling out of her hood as it too fell around her neck. "You better stop working long enough to eat it," she warned. Dick laughed.

"Aren't you supposed to be on patrol?" he asked, smiling at Stephanie.

"Aren't you?" She countered, grinning. "Now, I'm heading back out in five minutes," she told Tim. "Are you going to kiss me or not?" Dick laughed at her directness as Tim stood up and walked around his desk to kiss Stephanie goodbye.

Slipping around the two of them, Dick walked away again and passed Barbara's desk. He waved with a smile, and then continued on down the length of the room. When he emerged in the hallway, the fluorescent lights illuminated the white walls and floor as they had in the labs. Dick walked to the elevator and hit the lobby button, and then leaned against the wall as he pressed the button on his communicator in his ear, turning it on to listen to the morning shift change sound off.

"Nightwing, heading out to Uptown and Arkham City for perimeter guard. I'll arrive soon," he reported.

"Don't be late," Damian commed back.

"I'll be there," he assured him, switching the comm off. He lightly tapped the small plaque by the front door as he walked out, taking a moment to glance at Alfred's name etched into the metal. He could almost hear the old butler sighing 'be careful, Master Dick,' after him as he walked down the front steps of the Wayne Enterprises building, the ebony glass structure towering behind him in the bright morning sunshine of the street. Dick got onto his motorcycle and sped north toward Arkham City.

The abandoned streets were littered with cars, left by their owners and shoved to the sides when the laws had changed. Gasoline had to be spared. Even the bike he sat on was electric powered. Whatever fuel they had left- and if they ever found a fuel truck on the mainland, which was rare- went to emergency vehicles. Batman had long ago fitted his team's transportation with both electric and solar powered capabilities. It gave them and the police an advantage to be the only ones with vehicles. It left them in a position of power and helped keep the panicked masses in check. As he shot through the silent streets towards Uptown Gotham, Dick couldn't help but admire the bright sky, as well. Though he suspected that it wouldn't last long; clouds were already gathering around the city, waiting to close them in.

He shut his bike down at the threshold of the only bridge across the river to Uptown Gotham that hadn't been blown in the initial purge of the city, a full year ago today. Batwoman and Robin stood waiting for him.

"Took you long enough," Damian Wayne muttered, uncrossing his arms. His Robin mask and the scar over his lip gave the illusion of a permanent scowl on his face, shadowed by the hood over his head, and his Great Dane, Titus, stood at alert by his side. Dick scoffed.

"It took me less than five minutes! I tell you what, one thing I do not miss is the traffic," he lied, taking a deep breath. "Are we ready?"

"On your command," Kate Kane replied with a nod. Dick shrugged and led the way. They always went on foot for guard, it was much stealthier, and in turn, much safer that way. Batwoman nodded at the four policemen guarding the bridge as they passed.

"So who wants Grant and who wants North Point? I'll take South Point," Robin said.

"I'll take North Point," Kate replied.

"Looks like I'm left with Grant," Dick nodded as they crossed into Uptown Gotham.

Into enemy territory.

"Try not to get yourself killed," Damian told Dick. "I'd hate to have to come rescue you."

"In your sad little dreams," Dick smirked up at him. The boy had grown taller, in fact he could hardly be considered a boy anymore. At fifteen years old, he'd grown like a weed, already taller than Dick by a few inches and broad like his father. His massive dog trotted next to him; it's head at Damian's elbow. No matter what, the dog always accompanied him on patrol. It was well trained and smart, and loyal to its master to the end.

"Ha, if I have to leave my post to save your sorry ass, you'll have to explain it to my father," he retorted, smiling slightly. His speech, stiff and proper when he'd first come to them as a boy, had changed as well. Damian had adjusted to this new life in the past year. Better than the rest of them.

"Oh God, what would I do if I had to talk to Batman?" Dick cried loudly, and Kate punched him in the arm so hard he fell into Damian.

"Knock it off, bird-brain, or you will get us killed," she laughed.

"You're one to talk. Have you heard how far your laugh carries?" Damian asked before stepping away from the two of them. "Try not to get lost on the way to your post," he told Dick. "If your navigation skills are as poor as your punctuality, you may need to comm for help." He turned and jogged off, Titus following him. Dick and Kate walked in silence further North, until she broke into a run, headed for her section. Turning and heading west along the roads and empty alleyways, Dick finally met the high concrete walls of Arkham City.

It had originally been built as a free-range prison, hundreds of city blocks- and Arkham Island- cut off from the world by massive, impenetrable walls, hundreds of feet high and at least one hundred feet wide. The prisoners from Blackgate and the dangerous criminals from Arkham Asylum had been released in it and the doors sealed, but when the outbreak had begun and Batman had to take over the city; the entirety of Uptown Gotham was left to the inmates and the murderers.

And the Infected, of course.

The criminals stayed mostly in Arkham City; it was their own safe haven in the section of Gotham that they had claimed as their own. Even Batman hadn't dared cross the wall. It was dangerous enough in Uptown, and Dick was glad that he had taken the Northwest point of the area. There, closer to the gates, the bolder criminals sometimes ventured out from Arkham City to scavenge in the abandoned buildings. The only way out of Uptown was the single bridge left into Midtown Gotham, but that was well guarded by what was left of the GCPD. Dick crept along the wall in the shadow of it's height; it was still dangerous to be here, but less so in the daylight. The Arkham and Blackgate inmates did still have the run of Uptown despite staying behind the Arkham City walls, and they weren't exactly welcoming if they saw any heroes.

Another advantage Dick was grateful for was the silence. No traffic. No life. That meant he heard every rustle, scuff, and movement in his surroundings.

That also meant that he heard the groaning behind him.

Dick pulled his tranquilizer gun out of it's holster and turned just as the figure emerged from the dark, empty doorway of a building. It wasn't fast; they never were.

Not at first.

Dick's heart beat faster, and he released a slow breath to calm himself.

Glassy white eyes shone from sunken sockets in a pale face as the sun emerged from behind the clouds and Dick stepped back, his gun raised. If there was one, there'd be more, and he didn't want to fire to attract their attention.

She was small. Her head cocked to the side with a cracking sound loud enough to make Dick's stomach turn; her mouth hung slightly ajar and dripped a thick yellow paste. Worst of all was the smell. Like decaying bodies. It hung in the air around her, and Dick's finger tightened on the trigger as she raised her hands- several fingernails missing and dry blood caked on her flaking skin- and she came forward.

He stepped back and fired.

At the crack of the gun the vacant face distorted in a murderous fury, and there it was- the unbelievable, sudden burst of speed- she was nearly on top of him before the tranquilizer did it's work and she collapsed, twitching like a broken automaton, the dart between her eyes. Always between the eyes; if they fired anywhere else, it wouldn't work. Dick let out a slow breath and holstered his gun, kneeling in the dirt and quickly drawing a blood sample from the crumpled figure at his feet. He carefully slipped it into the insulated pouch at his belt and stood.

"Ya know the worst thing about zombies," a voice spoke through the silence as Dick spun around to look for its source, "is the smell. I mean, they stink now, but have ya ever let one decay in the street?"

Harley Quinn was leaning against the Arkham wall and watching him. He straightened up, wiping the momentary look of surprise off of his face before the corner of his lips turned up a bit. It was unmistakably her; bleached white skin and two-tone black and red hair tied up in matching pigtails.

"Well look at you. Still alive? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping that you'd all been Infected so I wouldn't have to deal with you anymore," Nightwing said, his hand hovering near his gun in its holster at his hip.

"Oh come on, ya'd miss us," Harley grinned. "What's a little zombie apocalypse without some chaotic backplot?"

"One hell of a boring story, I guess," Dick replied, cocking his head a bit. His raven hair was pulled back from his face in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck, the high collar of his jacket and a few flyaway strands framing his chiseled face. She hadn't attacked, and it only piqued his curiosity.

"So let's suss out some character development." She pushed forward off the wall that she was leaning against and clasped her hands behind her back. "Guns are more effective, bullets easier ta come by than tranq darts, but ya Bats are still opposed ta guns, huh?" Harley paced around him. Her red and black hair was pulled into low pigtails behind her ears, and she reached up to tuck the black bangs back. "You'll try an' be moral till the end won'tcha? Although, I guess the hair gets longer the tougher things get." She paused behind him, examining his ponytail. "Does the one wit' a helmet gotta rat tail peekin' out by now?"

Dick turned his head to watch her carefully over his shoulder, his lips pressed tightly together. He wasn't about to grace that question with an answer. She'd never seen his eyes behind his mask, just the vacant white lenses. Like the Infected.

"So what, a few walkers visit the city an' ya turn into Batman? I thought ya were the one wit' a personality? What a shame," she sighed, her ruby lips turning up at the corners. She stepped out of the shadow of the wall for a moment as she paced around him, her pale skin blinding white in the sunlight before she was back in shadow.

"So what, an epidemic breaks out and suddenly you don't attack me on sight?" He turned a bit, still wary of her behind him, his eyes locked on her. A pair of escrima sticks were strapped to his right thigh, easy enough to pull out should the need arise.

"That's not fair," she objected, pouting, "I always told a few jokes before attemptin' ta boil ya in oil, or feed ya to sharks, or something like that. Don't tell me ya forgot. I thought I was funny." She grinned as she stopped moving. Her pale skin almost glowed against the backdrop of the gray city in the dim sunlight of the slowly encroaching clouds. The bright morning sunlight was momentarily blocked.

"You were funny," he said calmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a job to be doing." In a panic Dick had realized that she could be distracting him. From what, he didn't know, but if something happened under his watch he'd never hear the end of it. He started walking forward, on full alert and listening closely to her behind him. Harley laughed and trailed after him.

"Not much of a job if they ain't payin' ya overtime." She pulled at the sleeves of her leather jacket in the brisk morning air. It had a red collar that continued along the top of her arms and chest, and down in a thin streak along the zipper. The black leather started high on her back and continued along the underside of the arms and across the chest in an arc. There were also black patches at her shoulders and elbows. It was over a tight corset with a characteristically low cut sweetheart neckline. It was two toned as well, with the inner right side up to the peak of the sweetheart curve red while the other half of her right side was black. It was the opposite on her left side, and the top ended just above her navel.

"I don't get paid at all," he muttered confusedly, glancing back at her, increasingly puzzled as to what her motive was for following him.

"Then it's more of a hobby." She nodded. "Ya lost, pretty boy? Ya keep lookin' around in confusion."

"Why are you following me?" He stopped and looked back at her as she stopped with him.

Dick took a few steps forward, and she followed. He stopped again.

"Who says I'm followin' ya?" she asked. "We could be goin' to the same place."

"I'm not going anywhere," he said in exasperation before shaking his head. "Wait wait wait- did you call me 'pretty boy'?!"

"Yeah. Wit' the hair an' the clothes." She gestured to his skintight Nightwing suit top with its blue streak across the chest that he wore under his heavy canvas jacket. "If the shoe fits."

"Well what if I don't like the shoe?" he snapped petulantly, and then mentally chided himself. What the hell are you doing. Shut up and move along. Do your job. Dick fell into a walk again, turning north towards the docks. Harley skipped to catch up to him, walking sideways beside him.

"Aw, don't go changin'. I like the shoe." She laughed.

Dick ignored her, his hand still close to his tranq gun in case this was a trick; it was starting to feel less hostile and more… playful? He glanced at her, opened his mouth to say something, and then continued on his way. A cold breeze came over the water towards them, blowing the dark hair away from his face.

"Can I ask ya a personal question?" She moved ahead a little to walk a bit in front of him, smiling back. "I always got the feelin' you had the hots for Batgirl. Is that a thing? Then again, I did also get the gay vibe. But that coulda just been the skin tight spandex."

"I'm not- it's aerodynamic," he snapped, flustered into answering. His cheeks flushed a bit under his mask. "There's nothing with Batgirl. Once, there could have been, but before all of this," he told her, and then shut his lips tight, blushing even redder. What the hell are you doing!? "Why are you interrogating me?" he snapped. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Or has the Joker let you off of your leash today?" Dick demanded, pushing past her as he pulled out an escrima stick.

"Touchy," she muttered before grinning as she kept following him. "An' technically speakin', you're on my side a' the bridge. So don't you got somewhere else ta be? Like your own turf? Or," she stopped in front of him forcing him to halt, "are ya here ta see someone?" She smiled up at him and winked as she laughed. Dick stared at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. He closed it again and she could see his brow furrow behind his mask. She couldn't help but wonder what he looked like without it.

"Okay, really. Why haven't you tried to whack me over the head and drag me back to the Joker? You're right, I am in your territory, and it would be completely understandable, so… why?" His voice had changed. He wasn't hostile so much as earnest and curious. He didn't push past her, but walked around her and continued on, fully expecting her to fall into step beside him, and she did. They'd reached the docks, and it was colder near the water. The sunlight diving in and out of the clouds illuminated the blue stripe on his chest under his coat. Walking slower so she could keep up, Dick replaced his escrima stick in the holster on his leg.

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked. She smiled at him before glancing across the water. "You usta be able ta see lights across the river. You can't see much a' anything anymore," she mused. "I can see someone left for zombie food any old day of the week," she glanced at him. "You guys walkin' around are kinda interestin' ta watch." She shrugged.

"You watch us?" he asked in surprise, though he didn't know why. They were in Arkham territory; of course they were being surveilled. And there wasn't much of anything else to do, anyway.

"Wha' did ya expect?" She crossed her arms across her chest, flashing him an amused grin. "Ya thought we didn't notice you guys?" Uptown may have been left open to the Arkham inmates, but they mostly stayed inside Arkham City behind the secrecy of the Arkham wall. Uptown had been thoroughly ransacked early on anyway, and it wasn't worth the effort to stop the Bats from patrolling it. That didn't stop the occasional person from making a trip outside the wall and into Uptown, and Harley had heard stories of a few encounters with the Bat patrols.

"Nah, we like to think we're stealthier than that," he answered, flashing her a gorgeous grin before resuming his stoic expression.

"Wait, wait." She beamed. "What was that? Was that a smile?" She laughed. "Or was that just a trick a' the light?"

"What? I smile on occasion," he said nonchalantly. Dick stopped and sighed, looking out over the water. They'd reached the northernmost point of his designated patrol region. He did a mental checklist in his head. Arkham wall secure. Docks empty, island perimeter still intact… he didn't want to check the cameras, since they were relatively recent additions to the list and as far as they knew, none of the criminals were aware of them, but he'd glanced at them when they walked past each one to make sure it hadn't been tampered with. He didn't see why they would have been, they were only there to catch anyone leaving or coming to the city without authorization. As soon as he lost Harley Quinn, he would check them more thoroughly.

"There's a storm comin'," Harley watched the clouds over the cliffside of the mainland, dark thunderheads growing on the horizon. Dick could just spot Wayne Manor on the cliffs. He shook his head.

"Well we've still got time." They stood in silence for a while longer, listening to the sound of thunder rolling over the water. "That's my job done," Dick finally sighed, and then gave Harley Quinn a sidelong glance. "So why'd you follow me all the way out here?"

"What? Walkin's good for ya," she mimicked. "Why'd ya let me follow ya all the way here?" Dick thought for a moment, walking back along the docks and starting down the alley back to the street.

"I don't know, honestly. Maybe it's because you've never been this docile before. I don't think-" he cried out as he was thrown into her, accidentally groping her as he tried to catch himself. He whirled to face the man stepping out of the shadows who had hit him, his cheeks flushed and his teeth grit in anger.

"This cape botherin' you, pigtails?" The man grinned, a gold tooth glinting in his mouth as he slung a baseball bat over his shoulder. Two other criminals stepped out from behind him, and Dick moved back warily when he saw that one of them had an outbreak victim on a dog trapper's pole, straining against the cord on it's throat. The vacant eyes stared at Dick, and he could hear the sickening sound of it's teeth grinding together.

He slowly drew his escrima sticks.

"You know you can't take those outta the wall," Harley told the men, looking at the zombie with distaste. "Bossman's not gonna be pleased you're disobeyin' orders."

"This'n was caught out here," he sneered. "Yer 'voidin ma question. I don' think bossman'd like you hangin round a cape, neither." The zombie suddenly lunged forward with blinding speed, making a horrible snarling sound. Dick leapt lithely back away from it.

"Who says I'm not out here gatherin' intel," she shrugged, "you're askin' questions above your pay grade." She crossed her arms as she stared down the man holding the zombie back. Dick stared at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the threat.

"Ain't no pay grade if there ain't no pay. An' the clown prince may treat ya like a princess, but y'all ain't royalty. And we ain't peasants," the burly man snapped, grabbing Harley's arm and squeezing. Before she could even react to the pain, Nightwing's escrima stick came down on the man's wrist, and she heard the bone snap as he cried out and released her. The towering thug furiously glanced at the man holding the zombie back, still struggling against the pole, and he grinned and let go.

The outbreak victim shot forward so fast that Dick scarcely had time to raise an escrima stick before it hit him and they tumbled away into the alley. Dick struggled to keep the face of the hissing zombie away from him. Its vacant eyes stared at him as drool dripped down from its snapping jaws. Suddenly it was yanked away from him.

Harley held the zombie back from him by the pole. With an annoyed look, she placed her gun to its temple and pulled the trigger. She turned her head with distaste at the splatter of black blood; she released the pole, and the gruesome, twitching figure fell to the ground.

"Now," Harley stepped back toward the men, cocking her revolver and placing it against the first thug's forehead, "what was it we were talkin' about? I think we were in the middle of something. Oh yeah," she grabbed the man's arm and twisted it hard behind his back. She kept the gun pressed against his head. "You wanna repeat what ya said? I think I wanna hear it one more time."

"Ya heard what I said, princess. I'm not gonna kneel ta you," he hissed through his teeth as Dick stood up, carefully wiping the zombie drool off of his face.

"Oh no, I heard ya. I just wanted to make sure ya wanted that ta be the last thing ya said."

"Don't," Dick warned darkly.

"Ya gonna stop me?" she taunted.

"Yes." He stepped closer to her.

"Well I'd like ta see how." Harley rested her elbows on the man's shoulders, the gun still pointed lazily at his head. "But what's even more interesting than that, is a super's tryin' ta help ya while your friends aren't." She cocked her head and glanced at two men who had been tentatively backing away from the confrontation.

"It's what I do," Dick said quietly, his eyes no longer on her, but the gun in her hand. As her finger pulled the trigger the gun was wrenched back, exploding as the wingding embedded in it caused it to backfire, spinning away into the street. She hadn't even seen him throw it, but Nightwing lowered his hand slowly. The man took advantage of her momentary distraction and wrenched his arm free, escaping with his friends.

"Aw! Look what ya did," Harley complained, rubbing her hand where the gun had clipped it. "Now I'm gonna hafta hunt him and his buddies down."

"Or you could just let them be," he cried in exasperation, straightening up. He walked over to the gun and pulled out the wingding. "Ugh. Scuffed it…" He tried to use his jacket to rub the mark away before pushing it back into spring loaded holster clipped around his wrist.

"Oh I'm sorry your little dingaling got a scratch when ya hurled it at my gun," Harley snapped. She checked over her revolver. "These things ain't exactly abundant in Arkham."

"Yeah, well neither are these. And they're called wingdings," he muttered, his eyes narrowing behind his mask in anger. "I wouldn't have scuffed it if you hadn't tried to kill that guy. I'm glad I took out your gun."

"You're really sticking with wingding huh?" She slid the gun into its holster. "And ya didn't seem ta mind the gun so much when it was saving your life," she reminded him.

"You saved my life by murdering an innocent man. These people aren't monsters, they're sick and they need help!" he retorted, marching up to her until they were nose to nose. Thunder rumbled in the darkening sky. "The more that stay alive, the more we can save later. And yes, just because that comment bothered me- I am sticking with 'wingding'. I'll tell you what I tell everyone; I picked it myself, and I've stuck with it for years, and I'm not about to stop now!" he snapped, his thin lips twisted in a furious frown.

"Jeez," she held her hands up in surrender, "big male ego. I get it."

"It's not an ego," he said quietly, stepping away from her. "It's all I have left from before the outbreak. From that life." He unsheathed an escrima stick and didn't look back at her as he fired the grappling hook in the end into the building above him. His thumb glanced over the button and he was pulled upward, disappearing over the ledge.

"Oh and Wonder Boy," she called after him; she knew he was listening, "next time ya wanna cop a feel, just ask." She laughed before continuing along back towards the wall.

Harley hummed as she walked in the Arkham wall's shadow. The graying city was silent around her, so the noise echoed forward off of the empty streets. She trailed her fingers along the wall as she went, tapping her fingers against it. She wasn't worried about anyone hearing her. Those few men were probably the only people outside of Arkham aside from the Bats, and she actually enjoyed the idea of them finding her again. Anyone else wouldn't be stupid enough to try and attack her anyway.

Eventually she made it back to where she'd watched Nightwing take down the Infected victim. She could smell the rotting flesh. A little ways past that, and she made it to the door.

It was the only way in or out of Arkham City. All the other doors were still sealed shut, but this one was slid halfway open. The door stretched to the top of the wall, making it look like a gaping fissure wide enough to fit a car. When she passed through it, Harley tilted her head up to peer at the top of the wall a whole building's height above her.

Once inside, there was finally noise. Doors slamming, drifting conversations, shouting, scuffing feet in the distance. Harley wove her way through the city, still humming. She walked down a street with enough pot holes to make it impossible to traverse by car.

The closer she got to her destination, the more noise there was even though it was almost just as lonely and desolate. Only a few candles stood burned down and extinguished in dirty windows. Arkham City had been without power since before the regular civilians had evacuated Uptown.

Every building was powerless but one.

The Warden's Tower seemed to cast its own shadow no matter how dark or light it was. It was the tallest building in Arkham City. The building had been used by Hugo Strange to keep an eye over everything in the early days of Arkham. Now, it was the central keep of the city.

Harley walked right up to the door. There were no guards; no one who wasn't welcome would dare enter the building. The thick door stuck a little as she shoved it in. A single bare bulb was shining from the ceiling, powered by the tower's makeshift generator in the basement. Harley blinked to try and adjust her eyes to the dimmer light as she passed the old security checkpoint and offices, long deserted. She lifted the cage door in the freight elevator and stepped in. Pulling it closed, she pushed the top floor button. The noises of the elevator creaking and rumbling up the shaft drowned out her humming until it reached the top.

"Puddin, I'm home," she called as she pushed up the door and stepped out.

"Haaaaaaaaaarley," a voice droned from the darker side of the wide, spacious room. "I hadn't noticed you'd gone out. Lovely morning for a walk, though," the Joker came out of the shadows and smiled darkly. "Was it?"

"Yeah." Harley flopped onto the battered couch in the sparsely decorated living room. "One a' the herolings was out n' about." She'd been keeping a basic surveillance of the patrols along the walls for him to relieve the boredom of a year's worth of being trapped in Arkham, though today was the first time she'd had any interaction with them.

"Oh! Which one!? Was it Batman!?" he cried, his eyes flashing for a moment, such a brilliant green that they stood out starkly against his white face.

"Nah, the first Robin." Harley leaned her head back over the armrest and looked at him upside down. She put her fingers around her eyes like a fake mask. "Nightwing."

"Oh. And bird boy number four?" Joker rubbed a puckered scar on his throat. "Didn't you say they're always out together?" He dropped down into an armchair beside the couch and sighed, plucking at the fraying fabric on the arm. Joker sighed again.

"He musta been patrollin' a different section." She shrugged before turning over and smiling at him. "How are things around the madhouse?"

"Dull, Harley; they're dull." Joker looked away, biting his fingernails. His hands were just as white as the black-tie gloves he wore, which had grown stained a bit from age and use; the fingertips cut off at the knuckle. "Some things are interesting, I suppose. Through his experimenting, I think Scarecrow has made some progress."

"Exciting." Harley grinned before her lips puckered. "Some thugs found a zombie outside the city but they got on my nerves." She sighed. "Unfortunately they got away, but huntin' 'em down will gimme something ta do today." She brushed at some blood she saw splattered on her jacket sleeve.

Joker waved his hand dismissively and then returned it to his lips, again biting his fingernails.

"Ya look stressed, Puddin." Harley sat up. "Anything I can do ta help?"

"Oh, I don't know, dear," his head twitched a bit as if he was listening to something. A rustling sounded in the shadowy corner of the room, and he ignored it. "I am stressed. Caged here, penned up in Arkham like some animal- we've lost plenty of our own, too, and Batman locks us away here!?" He shot to his feet, the tails of his grungy purple coat whipping behind him. "It's inhumane. It's criminal," he laughed a bit, and then grinned. "I miss the good old days. A slaughter, a fight, then the Bat'd throw me in Arkham and it'd start all over again."

"It's okay, Mistah J," Harley jumped to her feet and put a hand on his shoulder. "The heroes are workin' on a cure. Eventually things'll go back ta how they were."

"A cure?!" Joker whirled on her, grabbing her wrist. "How do you know this?! How far are they?!" He released her and paced away, lost in thought and muttering to himself. His fist clenched and unclenched at his side.

"I dunno know." Harley furrowed her brow. "They're always talkin' about helpin' the Infected, and I've seen 'em take blood samples. I don't know how far they are, just that they're workin' on it." She watched the Joker pace. "An' that's bad?" she asked carefully.

"Of course! Completely counterproductive to my work. We're doing a fine job- learning to control them. Harley, the old way is dead. But that doesn't mean that we have to stay here in this prison, surrounded by the corpses of inmates and zombies... We ought to take the fight to Batman." He grinned gleefully and let out a wheezing laugh, rising into a mad cackle. The Joker wrung his hands a bit and muttered again, an animalistic growling coming from the dark corner. Joker looked up. "Harley dear, could you feed Nygma for me? I think a plan may be hatching. I think…" he trailed off, crossing to the desk by the windows. Below them, the entirety of Arkham City and beyond that- Arkham Asylum- could be seen and surveilled clearly.

"What plan, Puddin?" She went into the kitchen quick and came back with a bucket. She tossed it toward the Riddler in the corner, and he attacked the raw meat that spilled out with a series of snarls. "Do ya have ta keep your pets up here? The smell is overwhelmin'." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. She often wished the Warden had had a wife or someone because his former living quarters were as bleak as he'd been. But Harley could handle the dingy space attached to the Warden's office; it fit the city and occurrences well. The zombie in the corner, she couldn't handle.

"Plan? Of course I've got a plan," he cackled, his eyes gleaming. He thought for a moment longer. "The plan is to become Batman."

"Be Batman?!" Harley cried incredulously, her brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought you always wanted to kill 'im?"

"I'll get to that, but for now- riddle me this!" he cried as he crossed the room, grabbing Edward Nygma's face. The zombie snapped and snarled at him, chained around the neck as Joker nuzzled his nose, laughing. "He's so cute! Who's my good boy?! You are!" he cried, laughing harder as he released the gnashing jaws and ruffled Nygma's hair. He leaned on the zombie's head and turned back to Harley. "How is Gotham still standing?"

"About the same." She shrugged. "Patrols are consistent, guards on the bridge. Wayne Tower still has power." She would have moved closer to him while she was talking, but her disgust for the zombie won out. She couldn't understand the Joker's fascination with them.

"No, Harley, how is it still standing?! Why?! The entirety of this plague was brought on by the Justice League, and yet, they were powerless to stop it. The world devolved into a ruin of these mindless... Well zombies," he laughed, a long green hair flying in his face. Pushing his hair back, Joker grinned at her. "So why is Gotham, of all places, still a safe haven? I mean, the citizens remain peaceful and docile, living simple lives growing their own food and livestock and living off of whatever was left in the city when this utter tragedy struck- why this city?"

"Because of Batman?" she guessed.

"Exactly. Batman took up the reins and ruled the city with an iron fist- he feeds the refugees, keeps them docile and calm; keeps them from panicking. He gets them everything they need and protects them- keeps the peace- I need to become. Batman. Rally the people. Our people. He locked us away in Arkham with these vermin-" he kicked Nygma, and the zombie let out a howl of panic and scurried away into the dark corner. "We are nothing to him. Not a priority, anyway. We're just as vile and useless as these bags of ooze that Hollywood warned us so often about- We're monsters. But what if we could be more? Yes..." the Joker strode towards her and took her hand, grinning wildly, his eyes shining as she smiled back at his excitement. "We can be so much more."

He let out a wild, hysterical laugh, echoing in the empty room and tapering off into the darkness.


	2. The One With All The Blood

"Do you have to go?" Selina Kyle- just recently, Selina Wayne- sighed, looking across the room at her husband. She already knew the answer. Bruce pulled the gloves of his Batman suit over his hands and then looked up at her, his cape tight around his neck. The hem of the heavy bulletproof fabric had begun to fray and tear with age. She watched him, and a small sigh escaped her lips.

She got out of the bed and began getting dressed. Zipping her jacket over her chest, she turned and then jumped when Bruce was right behind her. "I hate it when you do that," she breathed, laughing for a moment. She looked up into his eyes, the icy color of the sky through a frosted windowpane in winter. He leaned down and kissed her slowly, gently; he savored it for as long as he could before breaking away. Selina's hand rested on his chest, and she looked down. "That twenty-four hours went so fast, I..." She sighed quietly again and laid her forehead against his chest. "I don't want it to be over."

"I know." Bruce ran his thumb along her cheek. "I don't want to go either."

"It's not like we have a choice, though," she sighed, knowing those would be his next words. He nodded.

"But that doesn't make it any easier." He kissed her forehead. "Make sure you stay safe. Don't do anything reckless," he warned.

"When have you ever known me to be careful?" she purred, stroking the streaks of gray in his jet black hair just above his ear.

"Never," Bruce smiled a little, "that's why I worry so much."

"Well the feeling is mutual," Selina looked down, crossing her arms.

"I'm always careful." Bruce lifted her chin. "Except when you don't want me to be," he amended with a smirk. She laughed a little, but she couldn't hide her worry or her sadness. Selina had been off for months now, depressed; and it pained Bruce to know that there was little to nothing he could do about it.

"Hey," his hand cupped her chin, "we've worried like this every goodbye, but we've always come back all right."

"I know," she breathed. For a moment her eyes lingered, locked with his, and then she reached up and brought his lips to hers, pulling his hair as she closed her eyes tight and kissed him with everything she had. She kissed him until she felt lightheaded, and had to move away to breathe, and then she was kissing him again. Her lips pressed to his, she burst into tears. "Don't leave me," she begged, her hand balling into a fist in his hair as she cried. Bruce pulled her close.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry."

Selina dropped her head onto his chest, grabbing hold of his cape and pulling him closer. It took her a minute to control herself again, and she wiped the tears away from her face, not looking up at him. Their spacious, luxurious bedroom was quiet as she remained still for a long time. They lived in the penthouse at the top of Wayne Tower, and it had already been well furnished with a massive, king sized bed, silk sheets, and a spacious closet. Floor to ceiling panoramic windows made up the outer wall, looking out over the city. "I- I m-miss makeup," Selina whispered, laughing a bit, trying to lighten the mood after her outburst. "I miss eyeliner and mascara and- and getting red on your lips when we kissed," she smiled a little, touching his lips as she finally met his eyes again. There was shame in hers, shame that she couldn't be stronger for him, and she looked away again.

"I love you with or without it," Bruce told her. "You're beautiful no matter what. Selina," he gently nudged her chin so she'd look at him, "everything is going to be okay."

 _You always say that,_ she thought, but she smiled. "Okay. I love you, Bruce. Just… come back." She couldn't bring herself to say 'come _home_ '. This wasn't a home. As she took his hand and they walked out of the bedroom towards the elevator in the living room, she stepped closer to him, wrapping her other hand around his arm. Dick met them when the elevator doors opened with a smile. They got onto the elevator and Bruce pressed the button.

"Morning, Captain," he quipped, looking exhausted, but relieved to finally be able to rest. "Things went well last shift. There was a fire, no one was hurt, it got put out pretty quick. Candle tipped over. Cassandra moved the family to another home and we got it sorted out. Otherwise, nothing to report. Nothing out of the ordinary," he smiled again.

"Good. How many civilians are trying to enter the city?"

"We have a group of about nine; they say they trekked here from Metropolis. I didn't ask anything more, figured you'd want to assess them more than that and… I didn't ask about Superman," he looked at Bruce carefully.

Bruce nodded. "I hope they all pass quarantine. How's the Arkham situation?"

"Solid. No one's left Uptown Gotham. The Arkham City doors are open for the 'residents' to move about, if they want. Mostly for scavenging. They hardly ever leave, though. Infected and Inmates. From what I hear the Joker drove most of the Infected to Arkham Island."

"Good. We'll keep all patrols steady." He smiled gently. "Get some rest."

"I'm going to go see Babs first, but gladly," Dick smiled in return, giving Selina a hug as the elevator doors opened into the garage level below the building and Selina and Bruce left him alone in the elevator.

"Be careful," Selina whispered, looking up at Bruce. He nodded curtly.

"You too. Come home safe."

Selina glanced around the garage and then gave him a quick kiss. He had appearances to keep up, and they were on the clock.

"Love you," she whispered.

"Love you too," Bruce took her hand for a moment, and then let it go. He watched her join the Supply Run team by the trucks before walking towards the Batmobile.

He made his way down to the labs, and walked in right in the middle of a fight. Tim was pacing the floor while Barbara sat in a swivel chair, arguing with him. Dick cut them both off.

"Whoa, hey, guys. What's going on here?"

Tim and Barbara looked at each other.

"Nothing," she finally said. "A lot of 'sciency-stuff,' don't worry about it, Nightwing." He watched Tim walk back to his desk slowly, and he bit his lip.

"It didn't look like nothing, Batgirl."

"It's fine," she assured him. "We were just… having a discussion."

Dick watched her for a moment and then sighed, shaking his head. "Come on, Batgirl. You don't have to lie to me." Her eyes flashed.

"Then how about you don't lie to me. I know it's a lot worse than you've been telling me. The Infected." She crossed her arms. "Lying to me about how bad they get can't help us cure them." Her anger deflated. "We can't help them when they get that bad. There'd be no way to bring back someone who's been Infected too long. Their body is… too dead." She ran her hand through her hair. "I know you want to help them, but some of them are too far gone."

"Telling you won't make it any better, either," Dick said sternly. "It's not going to make a cure come any faster, and it's not going to help you if you get stressed and try to rush things." He watched her carefully for a moment, and then pulled her out of her chair, lacing his fingers with hers. "Can you leave? I mean... Can we... Do you have to stay here?"

"I don't know..." Barbara glanced at her desk. "I should really finish up these samples."

"That's all right." Dick smiled a little and kissed her cheek gently. Barbara couldn't help but smile; it was so comforting. "Do what you need to to save the world, Batgirl." He smoothed her red waves over her shoulder and walked away towards Tim's corner of the room, knocking on the desk. "Tim. Are you okay?" he asked, when he saw his brother sitting with his head in his hands, his elbows planted on a table littered with torn up and crumpled paper.

" _Don't_ call me Tim. We can't use our civilian names, you know that."

"Red Robin. You look like you need a break," Dick said sternly, watching him.

"I'm fine." He rubbed his eyes behind his mask. "I need to keep working."

"You'll be no use to anyone if you die from exhaustion," Dick insisted, and he grabbed Tim's arm to haul him out of his chair. "I'm asking for an hour of your time. An hour where you just unwind for a bit. Okay?"

"Okay, okay." Tim stretched. "One hour."

"Good." Dick took his jacket off, laying it over Tim's chair before they walked through the labs and out into the hallway. Dick led his brother to the elevator, and they got on; he pressed the button for the floor where the small employee cafeteria had been, now holding food rations for the people who lived in Wayne Tower, mostly heroes and scientists. Dick leaned against the elevator wall. "How are you and Stephanie?" he asked, nudging Tim's boot with his to get his attention.

"Okay I guess." He shrugged. "I've been pretty busy."

"Yeah, I know, because I always see Steph. Sans _you._ " Dick sat up as the elevator doors opened. He and Tim stepped out and walked to the cafeteria in silence, their boots clicking on the dirty linoleum floor. They made their way to the kitchen where the cabinets were filled with food rations, and Dick opened one. Rummaging around, he laughed. "So it looks like... Military food or junk food, what would you like? I think there are some fresh vegetables from the gardens in the park... What'll ya have, Master Drake?" he asked, digging out two styrofoam plates.

"Military," Tim said distractedly. "I could use the protein."

"But..." Dick held up a bag of chips. "Alright, fine, you eat your stuff I'll eat mine." He gave Tim a plate with the bag of food on it, and then tossed him a water bottle. Tucking his bag of chips under his arm, he opened a can of soda. "You know, it's things like this we thought we wouldn't have the luxury of. Sweets and junk food. But it's really the only stuff to survive." He chuckled. "People used to complain about packaging. Now we're able to feed the city off of cans and bags and tubs of things that will never go bad because it's fossilized in layers of plastic and cardboard."

"If only we could find a way to power the city on Twinkies," Tim laughed.

"We could burn them," Dick pondered, smiling, glad to hear Tim laugh.

"I'll get the best scientific minds on it." Tim gathered up his food, and they headed for a table. Dick sat down beside him.

"You really are doing amazing, you and Babs. Considering how little you have to work with... I'm proud of you. So is everyone else."

"Proud but disappointed," Tim corrected. "Everyone thought we'd have a cure by now."

"Regardless. You make me proud. Your progress. I wouldn't be able to do it, and I'm impressed. So is Damian." Dick tried to reassure him, shoving a handful of chips in his mouth.

"And Damian must be impressed at all costs?" Tim forked a piece of food into his mouth as he rolled his eyes.

"He is. Come on, Tim, you still holding a grudge? It's been ages. He doesn't hate you anymore," Dick laughed.

"Hey, I never hated the little demon. Although it is nice not having to worry about getting a knife in my back while I sleep." Tim twisted the cap off of the bottle of water and took a swig.

"Remember the first time you met? God, he was a hateful, jealous little thing..." Dick glanced at Tim and smiled.

"At least he didn't want to kill you!" Tim laughed. "He liked you; I was a target."

"Well you were kind of a dick to him, too. And not in my sense of the word," he laughed, taking a drink of his soda. The building was silent outside of the cafeteria and outside of their conversation.

"Because he threatened me!" Tim defended.

"True. But he did grow up in the League of Assassins. I mean when you finally _did_ snap and fight back, you nearly killed him, so I guess it's good that you didn't settle your differences when you met. He never would have come back." Dick smirked, elbowing Tim. He laughed.

They talked for a while longer, lazily munching on the food once they'd had their fill. After a few minutes of silence, Dick glanced at Tim. "So how are you and Stephanie? Really," he watched him earnestly, finishing his soda.

"We're fine."

Dick looked at him quizzically. "Really? So you're-"

"Help! Help, somebody- where's Dick?!" A voice shouted in the hall.

Dick and Tim looked at each other, abandoning their food and hurrying out into the hall, just as Kate reached the door of the cafeteria. She panted, her scarlet hair falling out of the braid over her shoulder. Her aged and worn batsuit was covered in blood, splashed across the scarlet bat on her chest, and it's color seemed to make her light skin paler. Dick's face turned stone-cold, and he wordlessly followed her back the way she came and down the stairs, breaking into a run as they neared the doors to the infirmary. He caught the doorjamb with one hand and rushed into the room full of cubicles; the desks and computers and office supplies that had once been used by the work force of Wayne Enterprises had since been replaced with a cot and a chair and a shelf of blankets and medical supplies in each small space, converted into a makeshift hospital with cubicles as rooms.

Kate led them down the center row of cubicles, breaking into a run again as they came nearer to the sound of screams in one of the little rooms. Dick's heart nearly stopped at the sound. He knew the owner of the awful screaming.

Dick hurried into the cubicle where two doctors held Selina down to the cot, while another rushed back to the bed with more medical supplies. She was covered in blood, her hair matted down to her face with it. Dick turned to Kate.

"Go comm Batman. Immediately."

He stepped closer to Selina and began examining her for other wounds, trying not to panic at the bite mark on her shoulder.

"You, start cleaning her up," Dick ordered. "You, dress these wounds-" he cut away her shirt, jagged claw marks raked deep into her side- "and bandage them as quickly as you can. Make sure you clean them thoroughly." He worked quickly, unfortunately all too skilled at the job by now. "Red Robin, go get Catwoman's blood from the store freezer."

"Nightwing, that procedure's never been tested. Batgirl and I aren't even-"

"- _now_!" he barked, and Red Robin disappeared as Kate came back into the cubicle.

"He's on his way."

"What happened!?" Dick demanded, helping the doctor beside him; he held Selina down as he poured antiseptic on her side, and she screamed in pain again. Her back arched against the agony, and Dick planted his forearm across her shoulders, holding her down.

"We were two miles out of the city, on the mainland, and there were too many of them- we lost two officers, and- I had to get her out of there-"

"-When?" Dick looked up at her. They'd seen the process before. They knew how it progressed. And how quickly they had to act.

"Thirty, maybe forty minutes," Kate responded quickly.

Mentally going over the math in his head, Dick bit his lip. He'd seen it too many times now, too many lives lost. Half an hour or so after bitten, the victim would be fine, but then the pain kicked in. The agony as one's body dies in fast-forward. Eventually the victim blacked out. Pain tolerance only went so high, and when they finally were unconscious, that was the window.

An hour to save them or kill them. After that…

Selina went still.

 _After that, it's too late_ , Dick thought as Tim returned with the case marked with Selina's name, and they got to work.

Months ago, Barbara and Tim and the team of scientists searching for a cure had found a potential breakthrough. This mutated pathogen- turning people into _zombies_ \- mainly traveled in the bloodstream, breaking down the body until there was nothing left. Tim had hypothesized- in a window of time before the virus completely destroyed the brain- a full body exchange transfusion could potentially save a bite victim. Replacing all of the infected blood in the body with clean blood. After his theory came about, the members of the Batfamily began stockpiling their own blood- should the situation ever arise where they needed it, and so far, with gunshots and other major wounds, they had. It had never been used for something like this, however, and it had never been tested.

If it didn't work, she'd be dead anyway.

Dick knelt beside Selina as another one of the medical staff came back into the room with an IV pump and a few other things that they had salvaged from the hospital in Midtown Gotham. Dick pressed the needle into her arm and taped it in place, and then pulled the cot out so the doctor could get at her other arm to begin removing the infected blood as the clean flowed in. The other two medical staff worked with him, and Dick turned back to Tim, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll work," he said quietly, watching him in earnest. Kate looked paler than usual, watching Selina on the cot.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"-there's nothing to apologize for. These things happen. All we can do is wait," he said calmly, and Kate continued to stare at Selina.

"I can't lose her like this. Not like Alfred, not like Mags…" she whispered, and Dick pulled her into his arms.

"You won't," he assured her, though he was having trouble believing it himself. "Go get some rest, Kate. Tim, I'll let you know what happens."

"And if it doesn't work?"

"Then I'll handle it."

Tim stared at him, his older brother's face cool and composed as he was breaking away inside. He nodded slowly. "I'll be in the lab."

Catching his arm, Dick pulled him back. "You'll be in your room."

"Nightwing, I-"

"Batgirl," Dick pressed his comm. "Red Robin is going to go get some rest. You can handle things, right?"

"Yeah, Nightwing, I've got it. Tell him to actually sleep this time. I heard the alarms go off, what's happening?"

"Tell you later." Dick switched his comm off again, and then gestured for Tim to go. He left as he was told to, and Bruce came through the far doors only moments later, his cape flowing behind him as he walked quickly down the center aisle. Nightwing walked to meet him.

"What happened?" Bruce demanded.

"Catwoman and Batwoman were attacked on supply run. Bruce, Selina got bitten," Dick told him quietly. Bruce froze for a second.

"Where is she?" He pushed past Dick.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Dick caught Bruce's arm, but then released it at the look of fury that he received. "I don't think you should see her like this." Bruce ignored him. He stormed forward until he saw Selina. His steps faltered. She was still unconscious, the exchange transfusion half complete, her bare torso covered with a sheet as a woman used a wet rag to try to clean some of the blood away from her face.

"We're testing Tim's theory. If we remove the Infected blood, maybe she can still be saved," Dick said quietly, standing just beside his father's shoulder.

"Maybe," Bruce repeated. He ran a hand across his face. "I shouldn't have let her out on patrol today. I should've-" he choked off. Dick's eyebrows knit.

"It wasn't your fault. These things happen, you couldn't have predicted it, and you couldn't have made her stay home." The corner of Dick's lips pulled up in a smile, and he put a hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"But she wanted me to stay home with her," he mumbled and stepped away. He walked over to Selina's cot, and the doctors shuffled around him as he stroked her hair.

"And she knew you couldn't, either," Dick said quietly. "We all know the risks, and we all know our duties. She knew what you both had to do, and she knew that you couldn't stay. There was nothing you could do."

"That doesn't make it any better," Bruce whispered. "That I couldn't have avoided this, this whole mess, the Infection, all the deaths, her attack, it doesn't make it _any_ better." The doctor by her side stood up and took his cracked glasses off, rubbing the lenses on his coat.

"Her blood is running clean, though we don't know the extent of the damage the virus already wrought. All we can do now is wait." He looked between Dick and Bruce, and Dick nodded.

"Thanks, Mark," he said quietly, and the doctor looked down at her.

"She should wake up soon, we hope. If she wakes up at all." Bruce didn't acknowledge him.

"Dick, can you make sure someone covers my patrol?"

"Of course," Dick said quietly, nodding.

"Let the scouting missions know that if this is successful, we'll need hospital supplies for blood donations."

"Bruce, this is… That's a lot to take on. We only have the one hospital…" he trailed off at the sight of Bruce's face. Dick nodded curtly. "I'll get on that. Anything else?"

"Yes." Bruce reached for Selina's hand, running his thumb across her wedding band. "Catwoman mentioned wanting makeup. Spoiler suggested that having some for the civilians would help boost a lot of morale among the women and was going to see what she could find while scouting. Can you check on the progress of that?"

Dick smiled a little, putting his hands in his pockets. "Sure thing. Catwoman will like that."

"Thank you." Bruce didn't look at him, instead he brushed a lock of hair behind Selina's ear. Dick watched him quietly for a moment, and then turned around, leaving Bruce alone with her. He went slowly down the rows of cubicles. He prayed that Selina would be alright, though they'd never found something that could stop the virus completely. He sighed slowly and pressed his comm.

"Nightwing to Batwoman. You and Spoiler were scheduled for patrol tomorrow. Would you like a third member in your party or do you think you can handle it?"

"We have a couple GCPD officers who are going to come out with us, so we'll be set," Steph told him. "Make sure the big guy takes it easy."

"Don't worry. I think that's covered," Dick said quietly. "And Spoiler- Bats said that you mentioned something about makeup for the citizens, and he thinks Selina will want some if she wakes up. Think you could raid a Hy Vee, see what you can find? We can distribute it to the citizens when you return."

"Sure thing Bossman. Now enjoy your day off."

"I will, thanks. Be careful. And Red Hood, Robin- you too. Stay safe. Let's not repeat what just happened, we don't even know if we can save her yet. So don't do anything stupid." He switched his comm off, knowing they'd heard. As he walked into the lab, Dick noticed that there was hardly anyone there. He watched Barbara dance in her seat a bit, humming a song, before she noticed him standing there and jumped. He wordlessly pulled a chair up beside her desk and pulled his blood splattered gloves off. "Selina got bit. We tried the blood exchange transfusion theory that Tim coined- all we can do now is hope it works."

"Oh my gosh," Barbara gasped. "Did they get all the Infected blood out? Did the transfusion go smoothly? Is she okay? Where's Bruce?"

"Bruce is with her. Everything went smoothly, and they said her blood was running clean- I just hope that it worked before any major damage was done." Dick sighed sadly and put his head down on her desk. "This is hard, being Batman."

"You're doing it well," Barbara assured him. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"I could do a lot better if you would tell me exactly what we're up against." He turned his head on her desk to look up at her. Making sure there was no one else in the room, Dick took his mask off and rubbed his eyes, reddened and tired looking. "You promise me every time I come in here that you will tell me what this is, the details, the science of it all, and you never do. I'm left thinking of these people as zombies rather than disease victims."

Barbara sighed. "They _are_ disease victims, but so are you. We all are, and not in that 'it affects all of us' bullshit. We're all disease victims." She grabbed Dick's arm. "We're all Infected. The disease runs through everyone's veins. Yours, mine, Bruce's." She absentmindedly traced one of his veins in his hand. "You die, you become like them. They bite you, you become like them. But it doesn't matter. We're all Infected anyway. Even if we kill every last 'zombie,' every time someone dies, or gets hurt or sick even, we'd have to worry. So I guess considering them zombies doesn't matter. They are zombies. We're all Infected, but we're not like them. And if we're not careful, we could be."

Dick stared at her in shock. "I… Have you told anyone else this?" He sat back in the chair, running his hands through his hair as he let out a slow sigh. "That's… terrifying, Barbara, have you kept that to yourself this whole time?" He again fixed her with a worried stare, lines forming on his forehead and between his knit brows. His pale eyes looked so tired.

"We all know in here." She glanced around the quiet lab. "Bruce knows. But what good does it do to tell everyone? All it would do is cause panic." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Why do you think you still have to patrol for the Infected even though we've gotten the outbreak under control again and again… and again?" She looked up at him seriously. "Because the 'healthy' people are Infected too. The people with no immunity were the first ones to develop symptoms. When they bit someone was- we thought- the only way to spread the disease. But..." She trailed off. "Come here."

Barbara grabbed Dick's hand and pulled him up, dragging him across the lab. She went to a computer and typed at the keyboard. Two video recordings from a microscope were brought up.

"This is fully Infected blood… and _this_ is a completely healthy person's blood from before the outbreak." The healthy person's blood looked like the textbook example of red blood cells. The zombie's was black, and swollen, and still. Barbara typed some more into the keyboard. "And this is all of us." The next microscopic image was of lethargic and swollen red blood cells. "It's taken over our systems, and the white blood cells have a hard time recognizing it as hostile once it's entered our bloodstream. We're just neutral carriers. If you get bitten..." She played a video of someone injecting a needle full of Infected blood into the blood that was already showing signs. The sped up recording showed the red blood quickly being overwhelmed and swelling. "You turn. No matter what."

"Yeah, contact with an Infected's bodily fluid is bad. So saliva or blood," Dick nodded, crossing his arms.

" _But_ ," she pulled up two more videos, "the real problem is when two symptomless people share blood. Or fluids." She played both videos simultaneously. The videos showed two different samples of partially Infected blood were injected with another sample of partially Infected blood. Dick couldn't see any change in the first video, but in the second one, he watched as the blood turned black.

"When one of them bites you, chances are you get Infected with its saliva." Barbara sighed. "Or blood. Whatever. It always overrides a non Infected system. We've run all sorts of tests with every bodily fluid we could think of, and the 'healthy' people are the ones Infecting each other now. When you come into contact with someone, you may or may not be Infected by them." Everyone had varying levels of immunity to the disease. Those with no tolerance, were the first to go, and those with some resistance to the Infection were all that was left. They had yet to find a human with full immunity to help create a vaccine; they were all hosts to the Infection. "It's getting less and less likely, but we're still Infecting each other." There were less people to Infect, and those left had higher levels of tolerance to the disease. It was Darwinism sped up, but without a cure, it wouldn't matter in the end. She knew Dick; he would argue the people had the right to know something like that, so she quickly continued on. "We would have made this public, but can you imagine the panic? Physical contact can turn you. Everyone would go mad. And sometimes it doesn't even matter. We've had samples in here just change. Fully Infect themselves. We know that happens when a person dies of natural causes or otherwise, or even just gets _sick_ , but we haven't quite figured it out. We're just," she sighed in frustration, "we're stuck."

"Barbara, you're right." Dick took her hands. "We can't tell people this... But what are they expected to do when grandpa finally croaks and he turns? They're infecting each other practically with a touch. …a kiss." Dick stroked her cheek. "They're going to find out. We just... We need to figure out what to say. They can't be kept in the dark completely, that can't be how this works." Dick looked down, some of his dark hair falling over his shoulder. He turned her hands over in his. As if he'd needed anything more to stress himself out. _You can handle it,_ he assured himself. _You have to handle it..._ But he was suddenly terrified. If anyone could turn at any time... He glanced at his gloves, bloodied, on the desk. "...Selina? Could she still...?"

"The most dangerous thing would be to give her clean, healthy blood. The initial contact with the Infection is the most dangerous… clearly." They both remembered the chaos of the first days of the Infection. They wouldn't dare inject her with clean, Infectionless blood. No matter how hard they tried, she'd be reintroduced to the disease somehow, and she'd run the risk of full Infection at initial contact. "The blood she was transfused with she would have given when she was already… 'Infected' or contagious like the rest of us. We just have to hope it doesn't react badly and stays," she glanced at the partially Infected cells still up on the screen, "not exactly healthy, but that her blood doesn't react. That's all we can do."

Dick bit his lip and looked down. He leaned against the desk and ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath. "So what do we _do_? Is there any way... I mean suddenly the need for a cure is a lot more urgent, Babs," Dick whispered, not looking up as he stared at his boots.

"You think I don't know that?" She looked around. "You think _we_ don't know that?"

"I know you know that, I just meant-" Dick tried to speak, but she talked over him.

"You think we don't know how unfair it is to have to lie to a person's family about how they could have possibly come into contact with an Infected instead of telling them it was them? It was them trying to enjoy what little life they had that turned them or that we just don't know-"

"-That's why we need a cure, Barbara, but you can't just-"

"-I know, okay!? I know we need a cure, and we're trying." She stormed over to a fridge holding samples. "We have samples from the original sources, and nothing! Their physiology is too different. Even Superman's. We're trying. We've _been_ trying for a whole year, and we're still not any closer."

"Barbara!" Dick snapped angrily, and then his voice and his face softened, yet the creases between his eyebrows remained. He crossed to her and took her face in his hands. His blue eyes met hers, nearly the same color, and he sighed slowly. "Babs. Breathe, okay? Listen to me. I _know_ you're trying. These things take time and effort and work." Dick closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. "I didn't mean to make you feel rushed. I just meant... We have work to do. We can do this."

"Can we?" She leaned back to look into his eyes. "Can we really, Dick?"

"Hey." He smiled, and for a brief moment, he looked like the goofy kid she'd first met in a mask and a gold cape. The Robin that she'd come to know. "If you lose faith in you, don't lose faith in me. I'm here to help. I'm not going to let you down," Dick whispered with another smile, stroking her cheek. "I won't let you throw in the towel."

"I know, I know." Barbara looked down, putting her hand over his.

"Good." He kissed her head and pulled her close, holding her for a moment before stepping back and taking her hand. "Now will you please take a break?"

"Didn't we just talk about how important it is for me to keep working?" she asked with a small smile.

"Not if you keep running yourself into the ground like this," he pointed out. "Come on. Come lie down for an hour or two with me. Isn't that incentive enough?" He chuckled, wrapping an arm over her shoulders. "Rest your eyes, get some sleep, clear your head." As they walked past her desk, he picked up his mask.

"Usually your proposals for lying down for an hour don't involve me getting some sleep," Barbara pointed out, rolling her eyes.

"Well I've been awake for three days. I mean I'm all for _that_ , sure, but..." He shrugged, guiding her out of the lab. "I'm also exhausted."

"Are we counting coffee as a good night's sleep?" she asked. "If so then I'm still doing pretty good." Dick laughed again.

"You probably get more sleep than me, able to stay here every day. Must be nice. We're definitely taking a nap," he concluded, getting on the elevator. They got out a few floors from the top of the building, where executive offices had been converted to bedroom spaces, and Dick opened his door for her, closing it behind him. He barely gave himself time to take his jacket and his utility belt off before he immediately flopped down onto the bed face first, his dark hair dumping over the pillows as he sighed happily.

"You haven't cleaned a bit," she mumbled. "Still as messy as always." She snaked her way under the covers and wrapped herself in them as she buried her face in a pillow. Dick laughed quietly and looked up at her, getting under the covers. In an instant he had let down his guard, and in his face she could see how much he truly hid every day; his exhaustion, his pain, his sadness- Dick sighed quietly and closed his eyes.

"My favorite part of the week," he yawned. Barbara reached over and pushed his face.

"Go to sleep, Boy Wonder."

He laughed, some of his dark hair falling over his face as he reached for her and pulled her close, gently taking her cowl off before burying his face in her hair. "You too, Batgirl."


	3. The One Where Selina Wakes Up

Flashes of the first week- so much panic, so much fear- the Infection had spread like the plague that it was. Nowhere had been safe. From farmland in Smallville to the halls of Wayne Manor, it took friends, family, loved ones; memories of a life before the Infection were nearly impossible to come by, save for those in dreaming, on the rare occasions where the nightmares gave way to dreams. Nightmares of vacant eyes and blinding speed, gnashing teeth and a wedding band on clawed fingers, tearing the bat symbol off of his chest- teeth sinking into his skin behind scarlet lips that used to kiss him tenderly and whisper-

"-Bruce? Darling..."

Selina's weak voice broke through the darkness of his subconscious and Bruce opened his eyes, staring sideways at the wall from where his head rested on her bed as he was seated beside it. His wife coughed weakly. "Bruce, what happened?" He felt her hand tighten in his as he sat up, pain throbbing in his shoulders from his awkward sleeping position.

"Selina?" Bruce shook himself awake. "Are you alright?" He reached up and put a hand on her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," she whispered, her voice still weak. "What happened?" She repeated. Her cheeks were still pink and feverish under his touch, her eyes still the same light green that they'd been since they'd first met. She still breathed slowly.

"You... you..." Bruce grabbed her face more firmly and kissed her forehead, her nose, and cheeks. "You were bitten." He rested his forehead against hers.

"I... Was... What?!" She cried, tearing herself away from him. She sat up and moved back so quickly that her back hit the wall and she cried out, her hand flying to her side where she'd been clawed. Selina gasped as she stared at Bruce in utter terror. "Am I gonna turn?! When will I turn?! How long ago was I bitten?!" she cried, and when Bruce reached for her she shrank against the wall. "Don't touch me! I'll kill you!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Selina!" Bruce grabbed her arms to stop her from struggling. "You were bitten hours ago. You're fine. You're fine," he breathed, pulling her close.

"How?!" She cried, trying in vain to push him away before finally giving up. Selina collapsed against him and her fists balled in his cape. "I could have killed you..." She whispered, pinching her eyes closed against the tears.

"I wouldn't let you do that." He stroked her hair. "I promised we'd both be okay." He buried his face in her hair. "I'm so sorry."

"But we won't!" She cried, pounding a hand against his chest. "We won't be ok, we can't both be ok- there's no hope for any of us so why- cling to it-" she gasped, bursting into angry tears. "How can we both be ok living like this...?!"

"We will be okay," Bruce said firmly. He grabbed her by the shoulders, avoiding the bandaged bite wound there. "We'll be okay, Selina. I'm not going to let anything happen to you again. I thought... I thought you were dead." He stared at her intently. "I can't go through that again. I'm not going to let either of us go through that. I promise."

"You can't know that!" she shouted at him. Her bare shoulders were hot to the touch; her fever a side effect of the transfusion. "You have too much to focus on, too many lives to save, Bruce, you can't save us all! Those officers... There were other officers in that supply run- it's all my fault- Kate could have saved them if I hadn't hesitated- how many more have _died_ as you stayed here with _me_?! It's not just us anymore, Bruce, and it never will be again. It can't be 'the Bat and the Cat' anymore because- because if I die, _I_ die, but if you die, _Gotham dies_!" she wailed. "I'm of no use to anybody!" Her words had become more and more slurred as she spoke, her fever blinding and confusing her.

"Selina." Bruce shook her. "Don't say that. You do matter. If you die, I die." She stared at him in alarm, and touched his face, as if really seeing him there for the first time. She looked down sadly.

"Then I live. So you live." _So they all live. You have to live for them. You're all they have._ Selina laid back down quietly, wincing as pain shot from her abdomen. She watched him as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes, her lips pressed together tightly. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry I can't be stronger for you._

"Father?" Damian spoke gently from the doorway. When Bruce looked, his son stood in the opening with his Great Dane at attention beside him. Bruce ran a hand over his face.

"Yes Damian, what is it?"

"It's nearly dawn... I returned early to see if the girls needed any help on Supply, or if anyone needed help in Arkham, and since Nightwing is asleep I came to you for permission." He watched Bruce carefully. "But now I see that you're busy, I'll just go speak to Nightwing..." He turned to leave.

"No, it's fine." Bruce sat back down beside Selina's cot. "How many are going already?"

"Just the two of them on Supply, Batwoman and Spoiler. I know that Batwoman feels incredibly guilty..." He trailed off, absentmindedly scratching at Titus's ear. "And Arkham Patrol always could use an extra hand. I'll go where I am needed." Bruce rubbed the back of his neck.

"You may join them under Red Hood's authority. Otherwise, check with Batwoman."

"Of course, Father," Damian bowed slightly in respect, his features rigid as he turned without another word. Walking down the hallway, Damian broke into a run, Titus keeping pace with him as he swung through the stairwell doorway and made his way down. His finger pressed his comm in his ear.

"Red Hood. Permission to join you and Blackbat in Arkham," he spoke. Cassandra commed back.

"Granted. All checkpoints have been secured."

"Then I shall assist with cleanup." He pressed his comm again to turn it off.

Everyone had a job to do. City Patrol kept general crime down and, should the issue arise, took care of the Infected when they popped up. Supply missions were run by one to two people, and their sole purpose was to raid the surrounding cities of Gotham for food, toiletries, clothes and supplies, building up a stock slowly but steadily day by day. Arkham Patrol kept Uptown Gotham secure from intruders and made sure that the Infected and the inmates remained separated from the rest of the city, and when all points in or out of the city had been checked and approved, the Arkham Patrol was to eliminate Infected that- should a cure ever be developed- couldn't be saved anyway. The ones that had decayed beyond repair were only a liability and served no purpose but to spread the disease. The GCPD helped where they could, and they were a valuable asset. Batman, Robin... They couldn't do this alone.

Robin nodded at the policemen on the bridge into Uptown Gotham as he crossed it, his dog trotting beside him. "I'm over the bridge. What are your locations?" he spoke into his comm.

"I'm along the East River," Cass commed.

"I think I'm in the middle somewhere," Jason said. "Gimme a sec. I got a few on my tail."

"On my way," Damian responded, breaking into a run. Titus followed. The dog made it difficult to use his grappling hooks to navigate, but he didn't mind. He preferred to travel on foot, anyway.

"They're all in pretty bad shape," Jason panted as he slid around a corner. "Probably been hiding out somewhere from the smell of them." He could hear the grunting behind him and the sound of slipping feet. "How the hell are corpses this fast?"

"They're not that fast," Damian smirked, and suddenly descended out of the alleyway to his left, leaping clear over Jason's head. He cried out and ducked as Titus bolted around him. Damian's feet hit the ground as he swung his katanas simultaneously, decapitating two of the Infected that had been chasing him. He backflipped out of the way as Jason fired his guns, the bullets tearing the chest of the third zombie open, severing multiple arteries. Damian landed as the gunfire ceased, and then he glanced at his dog tearing the fourth Infected to pieces. His gaze returned to Jason, and he pulled his hood down. "And I think I remember a joke told once about seeing roadkill faster than you, I guess this proves that theory."

"To tell a joke you have to be funny," Jason told him as he checked the rounds in his gun. Damian laughed shortly and then whistled for Titus. The dog returned, wagging its tail, a black bloodied piece of fabric dangling from his jaw. Damian bent over and praised the dog, clearing the debris off of his snout.

"Pretty cocky for a guy who just got his ass saved by a fifteen year old," he commented as Titus licked his hands.

"I was fine on my own. I needed the exercise." Jason reholstered his gun with a smirk.

"Yes, you are getting fat in your old age, aren't you?" Damian commented, standing up straighter. "Perhaps you should take up yoga with Richard in the mornings." They stood near the base of the Arkham City wall, and he looked up at the towering structure.

"Since when are you the funny one?" Cassandra said quietly as she landed nearby, her Blackbat mask covering the entirety of her face. "And have you looked in the mirror lately? You don't look like a boy anymore," she said, a smile in her voice as she grabbed Damian's chin and examined the stray hairs that he'd missed while shaving. He pulled his face away and chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, I used to be almost afraid of you, kid." Jason nudged him. "What happened?"

In an instant Damian's katana had swung down, just shy of Jason's nose as glanced off of his mask, and then it had returned to press against his throat. "Make no mistake, Todd, I can still kill you where you stand." A familiar scowl had twisted the boy's scarred lips, his eyes narrowed before he smiled and sheathed his katana, only joking. Cassandra watched them.

"There he was! Turns out I didn't miss him as much as I thought," Jason muttered.

Damian laughed slightly and then suddenly screamed as an Infected shot through a storefront window, catching him by the throat, its claws raking along his jaw. He raised a katana and drove it into the zombie's gaping mouth, forcing it upward through the top of its head. When it dropped him, more descended through the window, nearly a dozen, and a few rounded the wall, hissing and spitting as they moved slowly forward. Damian held a hand against his face and brandished his sword, his teeth grit together. He hadn't seen any blood on the Infected's hand, but he was anxious to clean his wound either way. Nowadays they couldn't afford to take chances. The Infected moved lethargically, vacant eyes and gaping mouths empty and longing to be filled, outstretched, clawed hands hovering and ready to tear their flesh away.

"Shit," Cassandra swore, backing up closer to Damian. "I didn't hear them coming! Why are they so silent?!" She held up her fists in front of her face, and Damian tossed her his other katana. Titus growled ferociously at his side.

"Damn it." Jason quickly pulled out his gun and flicked off the safety. "Where the hell are all these coming from?"

"There's three of us," Damian snapped, yanking his cape around his front and pressing it to his face to try and stop the blood flowing from the three long cuts running along his jaw, just barely above the vein in his neck. He took his hand away from his face to brace both hands on the hilt of his katana. "And we're by the wall. They're attracted to humans-" one lunged, and Damian cut it down- "We're going to have to fight." He grit his teeth.

"Not all of them are decayed," Cassandra whispered. "We can't kill them all."

"Then utilize the tranqs," Damian hissed. _Straight shot between the eyes… the only way…_

"I was here first, so don't blame me for this," Jason defended as he pulled out his tranq gun. He held both of his guns out as he took aim.

"And I'm not the one bleeding out," Cassandra mumbled as more Infected rounded the corner towards them.

"So we're not saying this is your fault," Jason told Damian, "but this is your fault."

"How are we so certain that it wasn't your big mouth?" Damian hissed.

All of the Infected charged at once, scrambling over one another in their desperation to catch their prey. Damian bit his tongue when pain exploded in his jaw as his teeth snapped together from the blow of his sword coming down on a zombie's head. Yanking his blade out, he kicked it's body back into the growing horde around them and used it as a springboard to jump over three others, decapitating two as the third caught his leg and pulled him back. Damian cried out, the Infected's teeth nearly sinking into his ankle, but Titus leapt onto the zombie and tore it's jaw clean off of it's face, defending his master.

"We have to get out of here!" Damian called to the other two. "Split up, so they have less people to follow- Hopefully they'll stay by the walls!" He cut clean through a zombie's legs and it toppled, more crawling over it towards him.

"Keep them away from the bridge," Cass added as she quickly decapitated two before grappling up out of the way of the oncoming horde.

"God these things are fast," Jason muttered as he sprinted for the corner. "And quiet," he added when he turned to see one on his heels. He grappled up onto a fire escape as the zombie's grabbed at the spot where his neck had been a moment before.

Damian watched them go and then glanced down at his grappling hook. He quickly cut down the zombies in his path. "Titus, come on!" he shouted, and then whistled for his dog, who broke from the mass of Infected and sprinted towards him. Damian began running with him, glancing over his shoulder at the zombies following him. He looked up at the rooftop where Cassandra ran along the buildings, and then back at his dog. He grit his teeth and surged forward, Titus on his heels. Cassandra glanced down.

"Robin, you have too many on your tail, you'll never make it." She said quietly.

"I'm not leaving Titus!" he shouted back. "You guys go, I'll meet you at the bridge!"

And with that, he turned the corner and sprinted down a side street back towards the Arkham City wall. The Infected closest behind him were suddenly shot down and fell back onto the others.

"Well get a move on then," Jason commed as he loaded a new magazine into his gun. Damian backtracked and headed for the bridge again, the zombies slowly falling away from him to return to the wall, where the Joker stood, staring down at them.

He watched Robin and Red Hood retreat towards the skyline where the only bridge connecting Uptown to Downtown Gotham stood over the river, the afternoon sun blocked out by the clouds swirling in the sky.

"It's always cloudy," Scarecrow sighed beside him, taking his mask off. Jonothan Crane's slender face and dull eyes stared out at the horizon. "You'd think that the apocalypse brought about the illness of the _world_ as well as its inhabitants, casting it as gray as it's people turn in death."

"Cruel, gray world," the Joker agreed with a smile, glancing between Scarecrow and Harley Quinn on either side of him. "But, we're progressing in it. Your procedure worked, Dr. Crane. They're deadly _and_ silent now."

"They were always deadly," Harley yawned. "Now ya just have the decaying problem." She watched the writhing mass of zombies below her. "It won't make any difference that ya removed their vocal cords once they rot."

"True," Joker glanced at her, tapping his fingers on his lips. "And Nygma is beginning to get bad. Could you...?" He glanced at Crane, who nodded.

"I'll get started on that. There are still problems with them, but I'm sure we can get them worked out."

"Terrific." Joker clapped his hands. "In the meantime, Scarecrow, get these ones back to Arkham."

"Yes. And about the raid-"

"-not here." Joker cut Crane off, holding up a hand. "I'll come see you tonight and we'll discuss it."

Crane stared at him, his glasses reflecting a brief moment of sunlight through the clouds. He glanced at Harley and then nodded. "I'll get these subjects back to the Asylum," he repeated, and then walked past them along the top of the wall. The Joker began strolling in the opposite direction.

"What raid?" Harley asked, trailing after the Joker.

"Don't worry dear, you'll know when it's need to know," Joker waved a hand dismissively.

"But I-" Harley cut herself off and bit her lip. Joker glanced over his shoulder at her, his emerald hair falling in front of his eyes. He grinned.

"Continue to trust me, Doll, I won't lead you astray. Don't worry," he turned and cupped a hand under her chin, his thumb tugging her lip away from her teeth before he leaned down and kissed her slowly. Harley kissed him back in shock. It was the first time in a long time that she hadn't had to instigate a kiss. He stepped back and smiled down at her, tracing a thumb along her lip, grinning as if it had been nothing. As if he hadn't just reciprocated the affection that she'd shown for so long. It wasn't much, but it was a start; she was left wondering whether it had really happened. "It's all part of the plan. Trust me," he repeated.

"Of course," Harley breathed. She grabbed the lapel of his jacket to hold him close. He grinned brightly and looked out over Arkham City, a wiry arm wrapping around her waist.

"We're beginning a new era, I can feel it."

"Whatever ya say, Puddin." She looked up at him and studied his face; the way his green hair fell over his forehead and the slight curve of his smile.

"Today we gain the trust of our allies- tomorrow, we slaughter the Batman family and crush the people of Gotham."

* * *

Dick opened his eyes slowly, a sigh escaping his lips from a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. His eyes hurt despite the hours of sleep he got, and he was dimly aware of Barbara's head on his shoulder in the low light cast from the sunrise into the room.

The nightmares didn't wake him in terror anymore. They couldn't compare to the waking nightmare he was living. He was most disturbed in dreaming not by the frightful images, but the peaceful ones. Images of Barbara's red hair shining in the sunlight in Gotham Park, of Tim laughing, of Damian fresh out of trouble in his brand new Robin uniform. Memories of the happy times were what pained him and frightened him the most. He hadn't noticed his racing heart. What troubled him even more this time, however, was a smile. A woman's smile and bright laughter, and blonde hair tumbling over pale shoulders. He'd never seen her before in his life, and as he glanced down at Barbara, he couldn't help but wonder why he'd dreamt of her and where she'd come from.

Barbara sighed as she rolled into him, grumbling slightly as she woke up. She braced a hand against his chest as she blinked her eyes open.

"What time is it?"

"Almost dawn. I'll have to leave soon," he sighed quietly, rubbing his tired face.

"I've been away from the lab too long." Barbara sat up. "I hope Tim ran those samples."

"It'll be fine," Dick assured her, reaching up to brush her hair away from her face. "You look pretty when you actually sleep," he whispered.

"But not when I'm awake?" Barbara laughed.

"When you're awake, you're stressed. But you _are_ just as pretty."

"Good answer." She smiled before stretching. "Are you on Arkham patrol today?" She ran her hand through her messy tangle of hair.

"Yes," he sat up. He'd gotten up at some point to remove his jacket and the heavy fabric of his nightwing suit, leaving his scarred and muscular arms exposed by the tanktop he usually wore underneath his uniform. "It's going to be a long time before I'll get to rest again, I think, too. With Selina out of commission I'll probably have to pick up the slack…"

"Any news on her condition?" She stood up and dug her mask out from under the bed.

"Not since before I went to sleep with you," he glanced at her.

"Fair point." She pulled her mask on. "Let's go find out."

Dick got out of the bed and pulled the torso of his Nightwing suit over his head, slinging his jacket over his shoulder as he put his mask on. His long hair was knotted and messy, and he struggled to run a hand through it as he followed Barbara out the door. Carrying a ponytail holder between his teeth, Dick glanced at her. "How'd you sleep?" he asked, pulling his jacket on and twisting his hair into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck.

"Fine, but I forgot how much you snore." She wrinkled her nose at him as she smiled.

"Yeah well I forgot how clingy you are," Dick muttered, smirking at her.

"Isn't it time for you to get a haircut?" she asked.

"You don't like it?" he asked, touching the ponytail again. Dick laughed a little and shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked down the stairs.

"It's okay until it gets longer than mine. Then I'm getting the shears." She laughed.

"Sounds like a deal," Dick smiled and glanced at her.

"And no mullet," she added as an afterthought.

"You didn't like those years? As I recall, you said I looked very stylish," he laughed a bit. Reminiscing about the past wouldn't bring it back, but it made the present more manageable.

"Now I look back and cringe." Barbara grinned.

" _I_ thought I looked stylish," he smirked.

"Do you still think you looked stylish? I look at old pictures of me and cringe too, so it's not just you. Although _you_ had a particularly interesting fashion sense."

"Hey, I _was_ styling," he laughed as they opened the door onto the medical floor. They went into the room full of cubicles and headed down the center aisle.

"Whatever you say," Barbara chuckled. Dick hesitated as he went to Selina's cubicle, grabbing Barbara's arm to stop her.

"Hey, let's be a little… I don't know, sensitive?" He stared at her for a moment. "Never mind, you're not Jason." He pulled her along and they stopped in the doorway.

Selina looked up from where she'd been talking to Bruce in her bed. She had no doubt coaxed him to sit with her, for he'd somehow ended up sitting beside her with his arms around her as they talked, his legs under the covers.

"Sorry if we're interrupting something, right?" Dick smiled a little. Selina looked down, playing with Bruce's hand.

"You're fine," Bruce told him.

"How are you feeling?" Barbara looked over Selina with a critical eye.

"I'm just fine," she smiled a little glancing up at her. Her hand closed around Bruce's and she squeezed tightly, her lips pressed together.

" _No_ ," Bruce looked at her sternly, and then glanced up at Barbara. "She's not. The wounds in her side are giving her pain, but she won't take any medication." He looked near the end of his rope. "She won't listen to me."

Barbara frowned. "You just had an exchange transfusion. Of course you hurt like hell, why won't you take any meds?"

"I don't need them," Selina said quietly. "There are other people who need them."

"You're going to be stubborn about this aren't you?" Barbara sighed. "Fine. Let's put this in a reasonable light." She crossed her arms. "You're the first human we've _ever_ seen survive a bite by an Infected. The first, Selina. We need you well enough to run tests on. If you pass out from pain or fever, you're no use to us. Don't put your body through an unnecessary beating, okay? We need you."

"It's not… I'll be…" she frowned, crossing her arms and letting go of Bruce's hand. "Okay," Selina finally whispered. Bruce smiled in relief, and then he laughed quietly.

"Just like that? When Barbara says it, you listen, but when I beg you for an hour…" he smiled and kissed her head. Dick watched them, the corner of his lips tugging up a bit.

"That's because you don't know how to talk to women," Barbara told him with a smirk. She left to go get Selina some medication. Dick leaned against the wall, watching Bruce and Selina for a moment.

"I'm going to head out for Arkham patrol," he said quietly. Bruce nodded.

"I'm heading out later tonight, but I'll have GCPD officers cover my shift during the day."

Dick rolled his eyes and nodded. "As is expected, sure. Stay safe tonight, though. And Selina, make sure you get some rest." Selina nodded.

"Get the field report coming in from Uptown before heading out," Bruce told him. "I'll check in with how the raids and other patrols went."

"Yes Sir," he muttered, uncrossing his arms. "Feel better, Selina." As Dick passed Barbara in the hallway, he caught her arm and kissed her cheek before continuing on his way. Pressing his comm, Dick cleared his throat.

"Red Hood, Blackbat. Report. What's your location?" he asked.

"Just checking in with Alfred now," Jason said as he tapped the plaque by the entryway. "And the little twerp went with us."

"We have a new report," Cass added quietly.

"Good. Give it to me, the Bat and the Cat are otherwise occupied at the moment," he yawned. "Meet you in the lobby, stay put."

He got back into the elevator and then emerged through the doors in the lobby, walking to them, smiling. It quickly faded when he saw the state they were in. Sticky black blood coated their hands and jackets, and the blade of Damian's katanas.

"What happened?" he demanded, checking them over. When he saw Damian's cape pressed against his neck, blood soaked and splattered on the boy's face, he narrowed his eyes. "Go to medical, Robin, you did well, I'm sure."

Robin looked like he might argue, but he instead went straight to the elevator without a word. His dog trotted on his heels, wagging his tail.

"Alright, you two. Report."

"Robin commed in that he was coming to assist us, and I had a few badly decayed ones on my tail, so he beelined to help me," Jason explained. "Blackbat came to check on us, and we didn't consider that there were too many of us in one place."

"Any that were in Uptown came for us," Cass input. They'd been the only three patrolling Uptown and probably the only on the outside of the Arkham City wall. The zombies had been drawn to the group of them together like bees to honey.

"Only," Jason rubbed the back on his neck, "we couldn't hear them coming."

"What do you mean you couldn't hear them? Were you not paying attention? We _talked_ about this, Jason…" Dick sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No," Cass said firmly. "Each of the Infected had an identical marking. One long gash here," she ran her finger along her throat. "It was harder to see on the ones that looked barely human, but they all had it. They _couldn't_ make noises."

"A gash. On their throats. All right…" Dick nodded. "I'm headed to Arkham now, I'll look into it."

"Have fun." Jason mock saluted him before going to get cleaned up. Blackbat nodded before heading her own way. Dick hesitated and then pressed his comm.

"Robin. As soon as you're fixed, up, _if_ you feel up to it, join me on Arkham Patrol. Got it?"

"Copy. I will be heading after you shortly," Robin replied.

"Take it easy," Dick commented, and then walked out as daylight was beginning to cascade over Gotham.


	4. The One With The Raid

Harley paused in the wall opening. She stopped to consider for a second before pointing to the left and heading to the section she'd followed Nightwing through. She strolled along the wall, staying in the shadow it cast. Once the opening was out of sight, she stopped and leaned against the wall. She crossed her arms as she waited.

As the time passed, a cat slunk by. She could hear it rattle a trash can lid when it disappeared into an alley. Scuffing boots steadily came closer, and Harley perked up. They turned to continue a patrol into Uptown, and she sank back against the wall in disappointment.

"Waiting on someone?" Nightwing suddenly said, leaning against the wall beside her, his arms crossed. Harley jumped.

"Don't scare me like that," she complained. "Ya need ta put a bell around your neck."

He grinned at her. "Didn't _mean_ to scare you. What are you doing outside of the wall?" he glanced up, his Nightwing mask hiding his eyes.

"Waitin' for someone." She smirked. "What are you doing on this side a the bridge?" she taunted. "Couldn't stay away?"

"Nope. Just making sure the bad guys stay in," he smiled a little. "Who are you waiting for? Should I be jealous?"

"Absolutely." Harley grinned. She walked forward before turning around to look at him. "Ya comin'? I thought ya had a patrol ta do."

"I do," he watched her carefully, before smirking. "Why are you leading me _exactly_ where I need to go? Been keeping an eye on us, have you?" Nightwing walked past her and started on his way towards the water, the same way they had gone last time.

"Every now an' again." She shrugged. It was actually a good chunk of the time she spent on top of the wall watching their patrols. It was the only interesting and helpful thing she could do. She'd pretty well staked down who patrolled when and with whom but couldn't figure out if they switched shifts for some reason when their schedules got swapped around, and she couldn't exactly ask that. "Besides," she grinned at him, "I've been told ta gather intel on youse guys."

"Oh have you? By the Joker himself?" Nightwing was suddenly more wary and guarded, but he smiled. "Is that ugly old geezer still alive?" Harley glared at him.

"Yes he's still alive."

"Yikes, I felt the cold blast off of that look," Dick laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. "Didn't mean to insult your boyfriend."

"Sure," Harley scoffed before letting it go. She was more interested in finding things out than being mad. "So how's it on your side a the river?"

"What do you mean?" Dick glanced at her, his brow furrowed. She was pretty, even with the snow-white skin and two-tone hair. He couldn't help but wonder how a girl like that got mixed up in what she did.

"I _mean_ , is everybody dead? Do you got riots in the streets with Batman martial law?" She gestured dramatically. "I'm not just asking cuz I'm supposed ta, how's it goin' over there?"

"It's… People are surviving," he sighed. "There aren't many riots and not a lot of people die, they're just barely getting by." Dick looked down, kicking a rock along the waterfront. This time he was careless, and Harley caught him glancing up at the hidden camera. She laughed at him.

"It's not like we don't know they're there. We've got _one_ building with power over here, and ya aren't exactly sneaky."

"Well we do try. The whole 'bat' thing? Cover of darkness? Hell, one of us was trained by the League of Assassins, back in the day." Dick glanced up at her. "The cameras are less to keep an eye an you, and more to keep an eye on the riverbanks. Make sure no one gets into Gotham without permission or advance checking…" He trailed off, falling silent as he listened for a moment. A scuffing could be heard down the alleyway and Dick slowly unsheathed an escrima stick, narrowing his eyes.

He cried out when the Infected woman leapt out of the door beside him rather than came down the alley, and Dick dodged quickly before pulling out his tranq gun and firing a dart between her eyes. "Jesus," he panted, glancing at Harley. "Couldn't even hear her- come on, let's get out of here before more show up…" he grabbed her arm and guided her away. Harley glanced back at the zombie's neck. The bloody gash was there; Crane didn't bother to stitch them up when the Infected were usually bleeding from other festering wounds. She glanced suspiciously at the wall.

"So you're still goin' with the whole 'not killin' 'em' thing, huh?" she asked as Nightwing led her along.

"Maybe we-" he hesitated when he noticed that his hand had moved down her arm to her hand, and he let go, reholstering his gun. "Maybe we can save them. We don't want to kill the ones who still have a chance."

"Trust me, none of the ones around here have a chance," she told him.

"Oh?" He looked at her, eyebrows raised in curiosity, but his voice had a tone of sadness to it. He stopped when they finally made it to the northernmost point of the island, and he looked out at the sunlight glistening on the water.

" _Oh_?" she mocked him. "Do ya think I'm just gonna tell you? You hafta tell me something first. Isn't that typically how these exchanges work? A truth for a truth? 'More to watch the riverbanks than us.' A lie. A good lie, but a lie." She crossed her arms and smiled at him. "So I'll tell ya what. You tell me something, and I'll tell you something."

"It wasn't a lie," he insisted, narrowing his eyes. "So this is an exchange now? Funny, I thought it was a conversation. What do you expect me to tell you?"

"I don't know." Harley paused to consider it. "How about… Why don't I ever see your girlfriend runnin' around anymore? She isn't on the patrol cycle." She grinned slyly. "Not that I don't mind."

"Girlfriend? Do you mean Batgirl?" Dick laughed. "No, we used to have… something… but we're more in the 'just friends' category right now. She's not on the patrol cycle because she's working on a cure in the labs." He put his hands in his pockets. He didn't see the harm in telling her things, to an extent. Even the people of Gotham knew that they were working on developing a cure.

"That was a boring story," Harley told him seriously. "I mean, do ya wish you were still together? Who broke it off? Does she hate bein' trapped in the labs? Ya had no emotion." She giggled. Dick smiled at her questions, flattered that she could be this interested. He suddenly realized that this could be a trick; that she could be trying to get all of this personal information out of him for her- and the _Joker's-_ selfish ends. He immediately shut his mouth. Harley saw the change in expression.

" _Okay_. So no more questions. Got it."

"Well I answered _your_ question, even if it was 'boring,' so one more. Why are you… doing this?" he gestured around them. "Why are you here with me, and not attacking me, and quizzing me about my personal life? And this time, _you_ give me a truthful answer," he gave her a sidelong glance, and then started walking again.

"Honestly," she smiled meekly, "because you were the one I thought would be least likely to attack me." She shrugged. "It was my idea to come out here and-" her eyes went wide and she waved her hands- "'gather intel' because… the apocalypse is boring," she finished in a rush. "Never thought it would be, but you try living in there for a year." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at the wall, still visible from blocks away, looming over the buildings. "With all the crazies killing each other and only making the zombie thing worse. You can't really carry on a conversation with a corpse. And zombies _smell_. I just want to be away from them for a little while. Ya know?"

Dick watched her, and then smiled lightly. "Yeah, it does get boring, doesn't it?" he sighed, and then continued on. They walked in silence for a while longer, until he finally looked at her and spoke again. "It was a mutual breakup. I don't _think_ there are any hard feelings between us, or even… feelings. We're kind of just friends now. I mean… we still sleep in the same bed when we can, and… I don't know. Not much else goes on, but sometimes I wish we were still together." Dick rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip, looking down at his boots. "I think I miss the feeling of being in a relationship more than I miss her. You know? Going on dates, watching Netflix together… 'dating' is kind of an obsolete term. No one has time for a relationship anymore."

Harley gave him a kiss on the cheek before he could react and then laughed. "No wonder you bats are so grumpy. You're all sexually frustrated."

Dick stared at her in surprise for a moment, his gloved hand touching his cheek where she'd kissed him. His middle and ring fingers were blue, the stripes running down the hand of his glove and under his coat sleeve. When he'd recovered from his shock, he smiled a little. "Just us bats, huh? Can I ask _you_ something personal? Are you and the Joker… I mean, do you and the Joker…?" he trailed off, hoping she'd understand his implication.

"Sex. The word you are looking for is sex," she mocked him, laughing. "Think about it. I mean, how long did ya date Batgirl? A couple years? And were you two intimate?" She raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were bright blue under the dark black and red eyeshadow. "And how long have I been with Mistah J? Whadaya think? And… I mean, you've _met_ me right?" Dick laughed and then let out a loud sigh, looking up at the sky.

"Batgirl and I were together for about two years, yeah. And _yes_ , we were intimate. As for the Joker?" Dick thought back to when he'd first come up against Harley Quinn with the Joker. "I'd guess five or six years?"

"Yeah something like that." She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter anymore. As far as things go, everything started a year ago."

"You've got that right," he sighed, and then stopped. They'd come to the jagged remains bridge that had been blown up that would have, ages ago, taken him to Wayne Manor. Now the rubble stuck out over the water, reaching for its other half on the bank of the mainland, nothing but empty water between them. Dick walked out to the edge of the concrete where it was broken off and looked across the river. If he squinted, he could almost see the towering building on the cliffs. Wayne Manor, surrounded by lush green, overlooking the city skyline like a watchful guardian. "As of a year ago, these are our lives. There's no sense reminiscing about hazy dreams," Dick said quietly, and then looked away. Harley stood quietly beside him, looking out over the water.

"Okay but ya gotta keep me updated on the Batgirl thing," she burst out. "Cuz as the stories go, the hero gets the girl, and you're definitely a hero, hero. So either make a move or find someone new because you're my new soap opera."

"What?" Dick laughed, turning to her. "That's crazy," he grinned, shaking his head.

"I live in Arkham City." She grinned. "Ya haven't seen crazy."

"True. But I did spend the majority of my life fighting it, and I came out sane. Maybe all it'll take is the apocalypse and I'll end up there with you," he elbowed her teasingly and started walking back off of the bridge toward the streets. Harley skipped up beside him.

"I don't think you'd last long in there. Ya may protect Gotham, but ya arrested Arkham."

"Then I should probably stay out of there, huh?" he smiled a little, watching her. "I don't know how I could, though, now that I've made a friend." Harley stopped in her tracks; she cocked her head to the side.

"Really?"

"What do you mean, 'really?'" he glanced back at her before stopping as well. "Of course. My family says I trust too easily, but I like to think I'm a better judge of character than that. Plus, with most of the world's population turned into zombies, well… we all ought to be friends, shouldn't we?" Dick smiled. He knew that it was a silly, naive way of thinking, but he still believed it with all his heart. Harley squealed and hugged him, and Dick blinked in shock.

"I don't have a lotta friends- most of 'em died, but I do have a roommate who's a zombie, so I don't see why I can't be friends with a hero." She stepped back, grinning. "Cool." She giggled.

He stared at her for a moment and then laughed. "Harley Quinn," he mused. "I don't get you yet, but I'll figure you out. You seem like a sweet girl. How does a girl like you end up- don't hit me for this- with the Joker?" He leaned against the wall of a building as he stopped, watching her.

"Doctor patient romance." She shrugged and smiled a little. "You know the story."

"Just didn't know if that was the _actual_ story," Dick shrugged, imitating her. He laughed. "I thought maybe-" he stopped suddenly, cocking his head, as if listening to something. She spotted the comm in his ear.

"My section has been secured," Damian said. "I've been working to cut down on the Infected population, as well."

"Same here," Dick responded, glancing at her and holding up a finger. "I think we'll stay out until ten or eleven tonight; then head in early and catch a few hours sleep before we switch shifts. Don't strain your arm too much, Robin," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," Damian responded as Dick muted his comm again. "Sorry about that. Where were we?" Harley glanced at the wall.

"We were just about to say goodbye because I gotta go."

Nightwing visibly frowned, his shoulders slumping a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You've probably got… things to do, and such." He smiled gently. "Be careful on your walk back, Harley Quinn."

"Yes Mr. Nightwing, sir." She saluted and laughed. Dick stared at her for a moment. He'd heard that laugh, somewhere, _before_ … Mentally shaking himself, Nightwing smiled.

"Get home safe," she heard him say quietly as she turned and started back towards Arkham City.

"Jeez, you're so bossy," she called over her shoulder before winking and continuing into the loneliness of the abandoned streets. She skipped forward, smiling happily as she hurried back to the opening.

Arkham City had always been a seedy place. When Gotham had sectioned off part of Uptown and left the Blackgate inmates and the Arkham patients to govern themselves, it had slowly receded into madness. With murderers, rapists, con artists, thieves, and the criminally insane free to do as the pleased, the city crumbled, crime spiked, and rioting was common. That was before the Infection. Now things were much worse.

Zombie outbreaks were common, disease expected, and crime a fact of life. With Gotham cut off from them, the inmates were starving and rioted as a result. The Joker watched over it all from the Warden Tower and kept them in line with a simple method: the Infected.

The disease victims were kept in the old Arkham Asylum and not many people were willing to live on that island with them. As long as the Joker controlled Arkham, he had the city, but there wasn't much of a city left.

Harley didn't pay attention to the grimy city as she passed through it. Because of her relationship with the Joker, she was untouchable. Not that that would stop many of the people hiding in the darkness, but she'd proved early on what a mistake it would be to provoke her. Instead, she thought about the conversation she'd just had.

She'd taken to watching some of the patrols around the Arkham walls a couple of months ago. It had been easy to figure out their pattern, methods, and potential weaknesses. She'd dutifully relayed the information to the Joker but had kept going back to the wall. It was the communication that had interested her the most. Even in the shortest cycles of their patrols, they'd talk- what appeared to be randomly into the air- over the comms to each other. She'd only be able to hear one end of the conversation, but the endless discussions engrossed her.

There weren't many people in Arkham City left who Harley could talk to, and even those she could, weren't around that often. The Joker didn't notice when she left for long periods of time and was usually too distracted with what he was working on. Harley had decided to amuse herself.

The hard part had been _who_ to approach. Most of the GCPD officers would panic and attack, and she'd never been on that great of terms with any of the bats. She'd chosen Nightwing. Her new friend.

Harley grinned to herself, feeling like she had a new secret as she made it into the Warden's Tower. She knew she should have tried to find out more information about what was going on in Gotham and the cure research, but she didn't think Joker would ask. She was still smiling when the elevator jerked to a stop at the top floor.

"Sorry I'm late!" she cried as she skipped out of the elevator.

"Late is late is late, no need to be sorry about it," Jonathan Crane said quietly as she walked into the large open room. He was strapping a black Arkham Asylum bulletproof vest to his chest. They'd stolen most of the riot gear from the asylum when it had shut down.

"Hiya, Harley Quinn," Harvey Dent looked up, the right corner of his mouth pulling up in a smile, the left remaining pulled back over his teeth, charred and burned. His black hair fell over his forehead to the right. "How've you been?"

"We don't have time," Crane muttered under his breath, pulling his mask on. Two Face was one of the few people Harley considered a 'friend' anymore because he'd occasionally stop by the tower to talk to her, and she'd been about to say hello when Crane distracted her.

"Don't have time to what? Tell me what we're doing?" Harley sat cross legged on the couch. "Because apparently I'm not need ta know yet." Nygma was frantically straining against his chain with all the people in the room.

"He means we don't have time for niceties like saying hello." Harvey shook her hand, smiling in his gruesome way again.

"Get your protective gear on," Scarecrow told her quietly through his mask.

"We're going to Midtown," Harvey explained, ignoring Crane. "The people here are starving, and your boyfriend's orders are to go steal some food. We have an Arkham transport van and one full gas tank, let's get there and back without incident, shall we?" He smiled yet again, and Harley would have found it disturbing had she not grown used to his gruesome features long ago.

"What's the plan for gettin' past the bridge guards?" Harley asked as she jumped up. She ignored the bulletproof vest and checked to make sure she was loaded up on ammo.

Scarecrow hefted a gun into his hands and loaded it with canisters of fear toxin.

"Dose them and drive through them," Harvey replied. "I'm loading the food, you're driving, Quinn, and Crane is in passenger clearing the way." Harley paused and cocked her head.

"Don't people scream when they're dosed with fear toxin? As in alert everyone through comms?"

"Not this one," he said quietly. "I upped the acidity so upon inhalation they're still dosed with fear toxin- still hallucinate, still feel the terror- but the gas will fry their throats. They'll either choke to death or the over excitement and fear and adrenaline will kill them. Either way, it's lethal. They won't make a sound," he shrugged, holstering the gun at his side. "You'll need this." He tossed her a gas mask.

"We've got four hours till dawn. Joker said this shouldn't take us more than an hour. We can't afford to take much longer either. Batman..." He stopped suddenly, his hand twitching. Crane watched him.

"We can't afford any _slip ups_ either, _Two-Face,_ " Scarecrow emphasized every word, making sure he heard him. Harvey looked up.

"Of course. Let's go."

"Cheer up, Crane." Harley skipped to his side. "We're goin' into Gotham. How fun is that?"

"Terrific if none of us get tranqued and dragged back to Wayne Tower for questioning."

"We have a noble cause for our own people," Harvey pointed out as they all got onto the elevator.

"Screw noble, let's see what kinda food they've got stashed away." Harley grinned.

"And just think, Quinn, after a year; you get to drive a van and run people down again," Harvey smirked, his good half facing her.

"Yeah, don't get us killed," Crane muttered.

"No promises!" She laughed. "Come on, ya guys have to be a little excited. Whaddya say, Dent? Are ya at least halfway excited?"

Harvey paused for a moment, and then laughed loudly. Crane jumped and glared at him through his burlap mask. "'Halfway'? Oh, that's a good one, we like that, we do." He chuckled, shaking his head. They emerged at the bottom of the tower and went out, making their way behind the building to a half-concealed armored prison transport truck. Harvey tossed her the keys and swung his rifle onto his back with the other, flashing her a half-grin before climbing into the back. Scarecrow got into the passenger seat and buckled up.

"Everyone please fasten your seatbelts and keep your seats in tha upright position." Harley revved the engine. "I haven't renewed my licence recently."

"Hold on, Dent," Crane called over his shoulder. Harvey buckled up and grabbed the bar above him with a grin.

"Okay here's the sitch," Harley practically yelled in excitement over the roar of the engine as she raced toward the wall. "This thing ain't exactly quiet, so they'll hear it comin' from a mile away." She raced through the opening with a foot gap on either side of the mirrors. "So I'm gonna get enough speed I can shift it inta neutral and roll up on 'em." She laughed as she raced through the dark streets. "So hold on tight because I don't wanna see your lunches."

"That's a terrible idea-!" Harvey laughed maniacally in the back of the van. "Too bad you're with the Joker, Quinn, you're a hell of a woman-" he cut off when she swerved sharply around a corner and Scarecrow let out a strangled cry, hitting the door with the inertia.

"Ah, Harvey! Ya always know how to get on a person's good side." Harley giggled wildly before grabbing her gasmask. "Here we go." She pulled it on, shifting the car into neutral and cutting the engine. The headlights cut out, and it was instantly quiet as the car sped forward off of its momentum.

Harvey slid his gas mask over his mouth as Crane unbuckled and rolled his window down, sliding easily out the window. He sat on the edge of it and rested his elbow on the top of the van, taking aim. In two quick shots he fired canisters on either side of the bridge, where the guard posts were. A couple of the policemen had run out of the small buildings to try to stop the truck, and immediately began choking on the gas cloud enveloping them.

"Woo!" Harley cheered as she restarted the engine. "What did I tell ya? We're in like burglars." The headlights illuminated the gaseous cloud in front of them. Scarecrow ducked back into the car as a policeman tumbled over the hood and he rolled his window up.

"Keep your masks on, the gas is designed to dissipate completely after a minute," he instructed. "They keep the food in the slaughterhouse by Colgate Park, on the river. Remember, we're only about fifteen, twenty minutes away from both the Bat's new perch and the Station that the GCPD are using, so move your asses. When we get there, I want you to reverse through the loading doors on the south side, got that, Harley?" he asked, glancing at her.

"Oh go stand in a pumpkin patch you old spoil sport," Harley muttered. "You ruin all the fun."

"We have to get out of here fast," he said angrily, his eyes flashing under his mask. "What happens if we're captured will be nothing compared to what happens if we get _caught_ and somehow make it home. The Joker wants this done discreetly."

"Doesn't want Batman to know that he _literally_ has to steal from him to survive, I bet," Harvey muttered, looking at the walkie talkie in his hands.

"Come on. It'll be a piece of cake." Harley rolled her eyes. "Ooo! Maybe they have cake!"

"Doubt it," Crane said distractedly, and then pointed out the windshield. "There. Turn around and back in there. Straight through the door." Harley reversed the van into position.

"As in _through_ the door. Like, I getta crash this van through that door?" she asked hopefully. "Or am I misinterpreting ya?"

" _Through_ the door, Harley!" he commanded in exasperation. "Smash it in!"

"You got it." Harley beamed, flooring the van in reverse. It smashed through, and she stomped on the break and looked around tentatively. "Are we alive?"

"It worked," Harvey assured her, throwing the back doors open. A guard rushed toward him to try to stop him, and Harvey hit him with the butt of his gun, kneeling down. Scarecrow got out of the passenger seat.

"Load whatever we can get in five minutes. Maybe ten. Just start throwing things in-" He walked to a table. The slaughterhouse was lined with shelves and tables with piles of non-perishable foods on them, and he grabbed an armful, heaving it into the back of the truck. Harley joined in, tossing boxes in.

"If anyone sees any cake, grab it," she called.

They worked as quickly as they could, filling the back of the van up to the seats. Scarecrow finally stopped and looked at the piles of cans and bags and boxes.

"Well it's not much, but it's a fair amount for now. Let's get out of here." He walked towards the front of the van, but Harvey stopped by the unconscious police officer. Crane stopped and looked back.

"Two-Face, what are you doing," he said cautiously, watching him. Harvey didn't move, before looking up at them.

"That's not my name."

"Shit," Scarecrow drew his gun, but he wasn't fast enough. Harvey fired a shot and the gun went spinning out of Crane's hand, and Harvey dropped to his knees beside the officer, grabbing the radio on his shoulder.

"Gordon, Batman- _anyone-_ help- It's me, it's _Harvey_ \- your food's being stolen you have to-" he was cut off as Scarecrow tackled him to the ground.

"God damn you, Dent!" he shouted, his hands on the other man's throat.

"Not- right- we can't take their food-" he choked. Harley stepped between them, pulling Scarecrow off of him.

"Stop it the both of ya. Get in the van," she glared at them and pushed Harvey to the van, "and someone tell me why we named this stupid thing a raid. It's a robbery. Or am I missing something?"

"You're missing something," Batman growled behind her.

"Oh sweet Jesus!" Harley cried, jumping and spinning around. "Bells, I tell ya. The whole lotta ya need bells."

Batman tried to grab her, but Crane caught her arm and threw her into the running van.

"Drive!" he screamed, leaping into the back and barely closing the doors as she tore out of the slaughterhouse. She could see Harvey scrambling after them in the rearview mirror, but Batman took him down and watched them go.

"Damn it," Harley muttered as she shifted into drive and floored it. "We shouldn't abandon him." She glanced in the rearview mirror before swerving around a corner. "He couldn't help it."

"I know," Crane sighed. "But there's no way we can take down the Batman and keep what we got. I'd hoped that his dual personality wouldn't get in the way, but part of me figured that it probably would."

"Ugh," Harley groaned. "Who named this stupid thing a 'raid' anyway?"

"Harvey," Scarecrow took his mask off as they drove across the bridge in silence. Harley glanced at him before refocusing on where she was driving, her hands tight on the wheel.

"Well you're all stupid, and the Joker was right; I didn't need ta know."

"We needed you to know, though," Scarecrow pointed out. He gestured for her to turn left up ahead. "He wants you to stop outside of the tower, he's going to give them the food there…"

A small crowd was gathering in the spot that he had indicated, murmuring anxiously among themselves. Harley honked to get them out of the way, and then she stopped the van near the base of the tower, in front of the door. As she tried to get out, Jonathan caught her wrist.

"No. A mob of criminals is a dangerous thing on it's own, but starving, caged criminals? We wait," he said simply, and Harley shut her door again.

There was a sudden thump on the top of the van, and moments later the Joker's head looked down at them through the windshield. He grinned and jerked a thumb to urge them to come out of Crane's door, and they did so quickly and quietly; the Joker beamed at them and caught Harley's hand, helping her up onto the top of the vehicle with him, and Crane followed.

"Where's Two-Face?" he asked, looking around in confusion. Scarecrow glanced at Harley and then busied himself with his mask, pulling it back on.

"The Batman got him, Puddin," Harley said quietly.

Joker's face fell and he looked down. Scarecrow glanced at Harley, wondering why she wouldn't mention that he was a traitor, but he kept silent.

"I was hoping we could get in and out without incident, but he's too damn _fast._ " His fists clenched, and he looked down. "No matter. Let's get this food to the starving masses, eh?" he grinned again, ruffling Harley's hair. "You did good."

"Hey! Where's the food!?" a gruff voice shouted from the crowd. It looked like nearly every prisoner and inmate in the city had gathered. There weren't many of them left, a couple hundred, maybe, but Scarecrow quickly realized that they may not have enough food for everyone.

"Harley," he whispered nervously, but the Joker cut him off.

"It's all right here, stolen from the Batman himself," he called to the audience, beaming. "And you'll get your shares soon enough." Harley clung onto the Joker's sleeve as she watched the agitated crowd.

"Puddin?" she said unsurely.

"It's alright," he glanced at her. "I have it under control."

"What if there's not enough to go around?" she whispered.

"There may not be enough for everyone," he cried, and Crane's eyes widened. The crowd stirred even more, angry voices growing louder. The Joker held up his hand and they quieted a bit, but only a bit. "But this is just the first 'shipment.' We'll get more, of course. In due time. What we have _now_ , however, is this- not to mention what little we have in storage- and the river. We'll get more-"

"-we don't want the Batman's charity!" Someone in the crowd hollered, and there were shouts of agreement. The Joker's hand froze in the air and his grin grew darker, his face twisting in fury.

"Puddin," Harley grabbed his arm more tightly, "he just doesn't have to eat it."

"It's not _charity_ when it's been _robbed_ ," he hissed under his breath. "Stupid pack of…" he raised his voice again over the agitated crowd, none of the light jesting in it that there had been before. "Then _starve_ ," he barked, his gruff voice carrying over the gathered masses and silencing them as they listened. "If you'd rather starve than eat what little _table scraps_ we can drag away from the Bat like a beaten dog- then _do so._ " he grinned horribly. "More for the rest of us."

"That's not fair!" a woman whined, and the Joker turned, his eyes flashing.

"Did no one ever tell you not to bite the hand that _feeds you_!?" he shouted, and on his words four clown-masked thugs emerged from the watchtower with zombies on dog-catcher's poles. The crowd backed up in a hurry, the sounds of frantic wailing and desperate shouts for mercy crescendoing in the dark, the Joker's laughter rising above it. Towards the back a few people screamed, only raising the panic.

Scarecrow and Harley cried out as the Joker fired a gun into the air, the shot silencing every man and woman standing around the truck.

"Listen. To. Me," he hissed, glaring down at the crowd, his hand still raised in the air where he'd fired the gun. "Before the end of the world, it was _Batman_ who'd put you here. In our own utopia, our little _Arkham City._ He caged us like _animals_!" he screamed in the silence, looking around at the faces watching him. "We were labeled- freaks, lowlifes, murderers, criminals, _psychopaths_ \- hell, when the apocalypse came, they threw in _zombie_ as well!" He let out a hysterical laugh, grinning down at them. "He considers us garbage! _Inhuman!_ Well we freaks have got to stick together, right?"

There were murmurs of hesitant agreement from the crowd.

"We're human! We have as much a right to live as the useless, docile Gothamites that he keeps subdued on the other side of town, _right_?!" Joker shouted, waving his gun in the air. The sounds of agreement grew louder as his words sank in.

"So we _will_ take these scraps- whatever we can- and _survive!_ We have to survive, because in a time like this- our humanity is all we have!" He laughed at his own words. "We have to steal food, like common _criminals_ -" another laugh- "because _Batman_ doesn't see fit to feed us! If we die, we're checking off a few things on his _to-do list_!" Joker looked around at the crowd. "Why fight each other? Why not take what we can get- _survive_ \- Because we all know who the real enemy is!"

"Batman!" someone shouted from the center, and a roar rose from the gathered criminals and lunatics.

"Kill the Batman!"

"Live to fight him!"

They shouted and cheered, the rebellious agitation subdued- for now. Joker looked around, his eyes narrowed as he smiled darkly around him. He turned his head to Harley a bit, not taking his eyes off of the gathered crowd. "Give them what they want. Make sure everyone gets an _equal_ share, including myself and you and Crane- however small they may be. Did they have any cake?"

"Not that I could find," Harley muttered. "It was a lot of canned fruit." She stuck her tongue out.

"Yuck. Maybe they can have it all," he sighed as Scarecrow jumped down and began divvying up small portions of the food to everyone. The crowd quieted and dispersed a bit as he did, little by little. Joker grinned. "Perfectly according to plan," he whispered, and then turned on his heel to jump down from the truck. "Perfectly."


	5. The One With Selina's Problem

"Bruce," Dick said quietly as he walked towards Batman, draped in shadow and the heavy fabric of his cape. He turned to look at his son coming. "What happened?"

"Where's Robin?"

"I left him on Arkham guard."

"Hmm," Batman grunted. "We were lucky he spotted them and called it in when he did."

"What happened?" Nightwing repeated.

"A few of the criminals from Arkham City got their hands on a truck- they stole as much food as they could grab and they ran."

Dick was quiet for a moment. "How much?"

"A lot. At least a day's worth of gathering."

"Well that's not so bad," Dick watched him, frowning. He couldn't see what the problem was. Batman turned back to the door.

"No, it'll only become a problem if they continue to do it." He pushed the door open, going inside. What had once been an office now seemed dark and gray in the pale morning light. "Eight policemen dead, their throats melted out of their necks," Batman said quietly. There was a figure seated at the desk in the center of the room. "If Robin hadn't seen your truck as you drove out of Arkham, you all could have gotten out clean. Even with your betrayal at the end… I'm curious, Two-Face, so close to the finish line- why'd you try to trip your fellow runners?"

"That's not my name," The figure at the table whispered.

"Dent," Dick breathed, and Harvey looked up upon hearing his name. The corner of Batman's lips turned up in a slight smile. Two-Face may have been a murderer and a criminal, but Harvey Dent was an ally and a friend.

"I'm… I tried to alert you… Even if they're starving, better them than the innocent people here. Better the criminals… _I'm_ a criminal…" He looked down again. Batman took a seat in the chair across from him, and Nightwing hovered over his right shoulder.

"You are," Bruce agreed, "but that doesn't always mean you're a bad person."

"I know. But I... I remember what he does. When I'm finally Harvey again... I know what he did. I know what crimes his hands- my hands- have committed." Harvey looked up. "In the past I've tried to rectify the wrongs, but there's no room for me here to do so. I belong in Arkham City."

"No, you belong somewhere you can get help, Harvey," Batman told him. "This isn't your fault."

"There's nowhere to get help anymore. I can't... I have to take responsibility for this. Those police officers, I may as well have killed them."

"What made you do it?" Batman asked. "What is the Joker planning?"

"He's not planning anything, not as far as _I_ know. I mean, if the fact that they left me here doesn't convince you that I was the expendable member of our A-Team, I don't know what would. I was just the muscle, and they've got Harley for that," he sighed. Nightwing cocked his head a bit. "Crane's the one you'd want. Thick as thieves. Scarecrow and the Joker are working on something, I just couldn't get in to find out what." Lifting his handcuffed hands up onto the table, Harvey looked at them and then turned the burned half of his face away, pinching his eyes closed. "The people in Arkham City are a mess. The Joker keeps control by managing the zombies-"

"-we don't like to use that word," Nightwing mumbled, and Harvey continued.

"We take them for what they are, not what we wish they would be. He keeps them all on Arkham Island in the asylum. Only he and Crane ever cross the bridge to the island. The people in the city… they fight and murder- we have no shortage of hate and alcohol, but _food_ is what we're lacking in. They're slowly starving. They've started fishing in the river, but there's not much that can be caught by the banks, and no boats… We've raided every place that there might be food in Uptown, trying to find more, but it's getting harder. It seems ransacking kitchen cabinets in abandoned houses is all we have left, and that's not enough."

The room went silent when he did, and Harvey Dent looked down at his hands again.

"I'm sorry for what we did. I know… I know you and the innocent people of Gotham need the food more than we do, and even you- standing in that warehouse- barely have enough to scrape by. And that's not right. It's not fair for us to steal what the people need. There are _kids_ on your side, Bats. We shouldn't have done that." Batman was silent for a moment.

"No you shouldn't have," he said quietly. "I understand why you did, but..."

"But there's just not enough," Harvey looked down, closing his eyes tight. Bruce stood up.

"We'll detain you here for now," he said before turning and leaving. Nightwing followed him out. "I'll inform the scouting missions that we need to restock."

"What do we tell the public? They know something happened, Bruce, they just don't know what yet," he pointed out, watching his mentor.

"We'll tell them the truth. I won't lie to those officer's families," he replied. "We'll just assure them that the van cannot be used again and that measures are being taken to stop it from happening again. They didn't leave a fatal dent in the food storage, but we'll keep the actual amount stolen to ourselves."

"I can do that." Dick nodded. He turned down the hall and walked in the opposite direction, heading down to the labs. He quickly relayed the messages and orders that Batman had given him before pushing the doors open. "Batgirl?" he looked around the busy lab, smiling a bit. There was so much motion. So much life.

"Yeah?" Barbara stood up from behind her desk, a pencil between her teeth and some papers in her hand. Dick smiled when he saw her.

"Just wanted to make sure you were ok," he commented. _Though I don't know why…_

"I'm fine." She pulled the pencil out of her mouth. "What's up?"

Dick walked across the room towards her, keeping his voice low so no one else would hear. "Nothing. Apparently Harvey Dent and the Scarecrow busted in and took a bunch of our food, if you haven't heard," he mumbled.

"How much did we lose?" Barbara asked, setting everything down on her desk.

"More than we're going to let on, but not enough to starve," he smiled at her again. "Made any progress?"

"Not really, but we might have _something_ ," she said excitedly. "We're going to get a new round of samples from Selina, and hopefully they'll help." She beamed at him.

Dick blinked in surprise before grinning. "Babs… that's fantastic," he laughed. "We should celebrate. Before I go on City Patrol." Barbara paused for a second.

"You know what, we should." She looped her arm through his. "Lead the way."

"What's the catch now?" he grinned, guiding her out of the labs. "You never come with me this easily."

"We just got through testing Selina's blood, and she's as clean as can be. I'm not allowed to be happy?" She laughed a little.

"You're perfectly allowed. Come on, I stashed some chocolate milk downstairs in the fridge," he grinned, getting on the elevator and pushing the button for the lab floor.

"Ew, is it sour?" she asked. The elevator began its quick descent and the doors opened a moment later.

"We'll find out together," he laughed, holding out his hands. "Come on. Or don't you trust me, Batgirl?"

"Why wouldn't I, Nightwing?" She rolled her eyes before jumping up to him. He caught her in his arms and then nearly dropped her, bursting into laughter.

"Maybe because I'm still as clumsy as I was when I was Robin," he laughed, beaming as he carried her out of the elevator.

" _You_ were never clumsy; you're just clumsy with other people," she corrected before the smile slid off her face. "Sorry."

"Nope. I have good memories of Haly's Circus, I'm going to leave them at that. I'm…" he was hesitant to say 'over it'. He'd never be over his parent's deaths. "I'm at peace with it," he smiled lightly. "And who are we kidding, I was never clumsy," he muttered, and then swung her over his shoulder, heading down the hallway as he laughed.

"Put me down! Richard Grayson you will put me down this instant!" Barbara complained as she tried not to laugh.

"Shhhh you can't use my real name!" he hissed. "Someone could hear you! Call me Nightwing," Dick smirked, wrapping his arm around her knees.

"Fine. Nightwing put me down."

"Shhhhhh," he insisted again, laughing. He pushed the door open to the main floor and walked through the cafeteria, bending over to pull the little bottle of milk out of the fridge. He handed it behind his back to Barbara. "Hold that, would ya?" he smiled. She could smell the sour milk from where she held it in her hands.

"Um, I hate to burst your bubble…" She held the bottle away from her face.

"Then don't," he grinned, walking to the elevator. when the doors opened, he set her down in the elevator and leaned against the wall, kicking the button to the top floor.

"You hold the milk." Barbara tossed it to him, putting her hand under her nose as she smiled. Dick sniffed it and coughed.

"Whoo, shit. That's strong. I dare you to drink it," he grinned at her, holding it back out to her.

"No! Why would I drink that?" She pushed his hand back. "Throw it away!"

"I… double-dog dare you," he walked backwards down the hall as they got off of the elevator.

"What are you? Eleven?" She laughed and elbowed past him.

"Don't make me say triple," he warned, turning around and following her to the end of the hall, where a maintenance door led to the staircase to the roof of Wayne Tower.

"I'm still not going to do it," she told him.

"Fine then I triple-dog dare you." He pushed it at her, his eyebrows raised. Barbara grabbed the bottle with a smile before tossing it into a trashcan as they passed it.

"No!" Dick dove after it, taking it out and dusting it off. "I'm gonna throw it off the roof. See if I can hit the Batmobile." They went up the stairs and emerged on the roof, a light ring around the dark horizon.

"See, I knew you didn't actually want me to drink it."

"No." He stared at her for a moment and looked at the bottle. "Dare me to drink it?"

"No! Ew, stop it." She smacked his arm.

"Would I turn into a zombie? Would I die?" He sat down on the rooftop, grinning up at her.

"No," she sat down beside him, "but you would get incredibly sick, and I am not taking care of you."

"Aw, you never had a problem taking care of me before," he smirked, reaching over to pull her cowl off gently. Dick smiled a little.

"Is this you trying to tell me you need a break?" she taunted. "You're so sick of working you'd rather be deathly ill?"

"No," he smirked. "Just sick of not being able to see you."

"Nice play on words," she complimented him. "Now are you going to do something with that milk before the smell makes _me_ sick?"

"You want to do the honors?" he asked, standing up with the bottle. Barbara shook her head.

"You go right on ahead."

Dick took the bottle and wound up, chucking the bottle off of the roof. It made a slow, graceful arc before disappearing into the streets. He sat down again and took his mask off, dropping it on Barbara's cowl. "There. No more smell. Happy now?" He leaned back on his hands, cocking his head at her. His dark hair fell over his shoulder, his blue eyes piercing. She missed seeing his eyes, he always had to have his mask on.

"Ecstatic." She grinned at him before turning to watch the sunrise. Dick continued to look at her. He couldn't stop thinking about what Harley had told him, to either make a move or move on. He hadn't known at the time, he was just continuing the conversation- but he really _wasn't_ sure that he was over her yet.

"Babs…" He sighed quietly, biting his lip.

"Hmm?" She glanced over at him. "Why are you doing the lip biting thing?"

"I- what?" he looked at her, releasing his lip from his teeth.

"The lip biting thing literally means you're biting your words back." She laughed at him. "What is it?"

"It's just… do you ever miss it?" He looked back out over the city, resting his chin on his knees.

"Miss what?" She laughed. "You're going to have to be more specific."

"Us. You. Me. Together. Do you ever miss our actual relationship?" he asked, smiling. He loved making her laugh, but this wasn't the time. Barbara stared at him for a second.

"Us," she sighed. "I'm going to assume you're not talking about the relationship we have now." She leaned back and tilted her head up. "I guess I do sometimes. But more in the way that I _miss_ that happiness. I miss knowing the world would keep turning, and I would have someone to come home to, someone who loved me and would love me." She looked back at him. "You're my best friend, Dick, and you were a great boyfriend…"

"There's a but coming, isn't there," he smiled a little.

" _But_ ," she smiled gently, "it just doesn't seem right anymore. You _are_ my best friend, but with everything happening around us…" She shook her head. "It just doesn't feel the same. I mean, you're always there when I need comfort, and I do my best to do the same for you, just with everything else… Looking for the cure is my life now, and yours is patrols. And for starters," she nudged him, "I can't be the worrying girlfriend stuck at home while you're out there. It's just… Our time passed. We grew up. We outgrew each other."

"Yeah, outgrew each other," he smiled a little, looking down at his mask lying beside hers. "That's how I'd have put it." She studied him carefully.

"Do _you_ ever miss us?"

"No. Of course not, I was just curious," he laughed and then shook his head. "All the time." Dick glanced up at her. He bit his lip and laughed again. Barbara sat up.

"Do you… Do you still have feelings for me?"

"I don't know," Dick answered honestly, wrapping his arms around his knees. "Like I told… well I think I miss the idea of you. Like you said. With all this… _duty_ , all of our work to do now… it makes me miss it. Miss you. Makes it kinda hard to tell if I have feelings for you or not, you know?" he glanced at her. Barbara's eyes glanced between his, and her breathing sped up a little bit.

"Dick, why didn't you say anything?"

"What do you mean? You've been in the labs doing the hero thing, and I've been on the streets doing the hero thing. We've been busy." he shrugged a bit, smiling a little.

"We see each other every couple of days. For a _year_. And you were too busy to say 'hey Babs, I might still have feelings for you'?"

"Hey Babs, I might still have feelings for you," he muttered, a grin breaking across his face. She smacked him.

"What the hell, Dick?"

"Ow! What? I'm sorry! It never came up," he laughed. "There was never a good time."

"Dick," she sighed, looking back at the sunrise. " _Why_ do you still have feelings for me? I wasn't the last girl you dated or loved, so why?"

"You weren't the last, but you were my first." Dick watched her, his blue eyes serious in the dim light. "Do you know… I've only told you a thousand times that I'd never seen anyone more beautiful the first time I saw you in the cave, Batgirl," he smiled. "I'll never forget a feeling like that. And besides, I said I _might_. I'm not totally clear myself on things right now." For some reason, his thoughts wandered to Harley again, and his brow furrowed a bit. _Why?_

"Is this because of all those times that we… Because you know those were just because of- everything that's happened- everyone needs comfort during all of this- and they were just- we were just friends…" Dick laughed, leaning back against the building wall.

"You mean the sex, right?" he laughed again. "No, it was long before that. But that's nice, don't get me wrong." Shaking his head, he stood up. "Bruce will get angry if I'm late for patrol. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spring that on you. I didn't think it would be that big a deal." He held out a hand to help her up. Barbara scooped up their masks before letting him help her up.

"Of course I want to know if you have feelings for me." She shrugged. "It's a girl thing."

"Well it's kind of crazy," he smiled and draped an arm over her shoulders, pulling her close, kissing her cheek.

"Well girls are crazy. So keep me updated on the whole feeling thing."

"I'll try." He led her down to the elevator and walked her all the way back to the labs, her ears were a bit pink the whole way, before leaving her, pressing the comm in his ear.

"Bats, leaving for patrol. Take the night off," he commented.

"Did you enjoy your break?" Robin asked disdainfully.

"I did," Dick replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he went down to the lobby.

"I could have died while you were slacking off and no one would have known," he muttered. Batman interrupted them.

"No one is dying, not on my watch. Dick, have a safe patrol. Damian, come get some rest."

"Yes sir," Nightwing agreed.

"And keep in touch with the bridge guards," Bruce instructed as he paced back and forth, "we don't want another incident."

"Yes, Father," Damian nodded. "And Batman? There's something you should know. Something _everyone_ should know."

"Yes?" Bruce hesitated. The rest of the team listened over the comms too.

"While we were in Uptown, the Infected that attacked us were silent, and unnaturally so."

"There were gashes on their necks," Cassandra added.

"Hey wait, Dent said something about them doing experiments." Dick inserted quietly. "Could that be it?"

"He cut their vocal cords," Batman nodded, pressing the button for the top floor in the elevator. "In an attempt to make them quieter. Good work. Arkham patrol; be on high alert, we don't need any more casualties. and see if you can _carefully_ get some samples from one or two; we can see what other experiments they've been doing."

"Copy that, Bats." Damian said seriously.

"Copy-copy, Rockin' Robin."

"Shut up, Todd." he snapped.

"Copy-copy Arkham Knight!"

"Copy that, Dickie-bird."

"-Copy-"

"-God damn it-" Bruce muttered, muting his comm to the laughter of the rest of his team.

He pushed the door to he and Selina's bedroom open, and she straightened up slowly from her bent over position, breathing slowly as she moved into another yoga position, her back arching. Her eyes were closed and she smiled when she heard Bruce come in.

"You stink," she commented lightly. Bruce took a curious sniff of himself.

"Says the woman sweating." He bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she held her position. She held it for a moment longer and then straightened up, turning to him.

"I'm serious. You need a shower. Maybe I do too," she whispered with a small smile, her hands on his chest. Her black tank top left her shoulders exposed, bandages still wrapped around the bite wound on one.

"Weren't you in the middle of something?" he asked with a smirk. "I'm fine with watching you finish up your yoga."

"I know you are," she laughed. She seemed happier than her usual self, and she moved up on her tiptoes to kiss him lovingly. Bruce responded in kind before pulling away.

"I've missed seeing you smile." He ran his thumb along the corner of her mouth.

"I know. I'm sorry," she apologized, looking down. He lifted her chin.

"Hey, no one smiles that much anymore. That doesn't mean I don't miss it."

"Because you were always Mr. Grin before all of this," she laughed. "At least I'm used to it," she traced his lips. "But that disapproving scowl has always made me smile."

"You know," he wrapped his arms around her waist, lightly, so that he wouldn't disturb the bandages on the claw wounds there; "it's supposed to be intimidating, not endearing."

Selina looked up at him. "Maybe to people who don't know you it's intimidating." Her dark hair was getting longer, curling at her neck and falling over her white-green eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck, on her tiptoes so that she could stand even with his lips. "I _know_ you. When I look at that mask, I see your gorgeous eyes, and the love in them." She gently pulled his mask back from his face. "I see you're human."

"Well don't tell anyone else that." He pulled her closer, his hands bunching in the fabric of her tank top until their noses were almost touching.

"Right. The untouchable Bat," she breathed, her lips brushing his. "I've missed you."

"I'm here now aren't I?" He pulled her up against him and kissed her gently.

 _But you won't be come sunrise,_ she thought, whimpering slightly. She grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, her eyes shut tight. Bruce held onto her like she was spun glass. She always seemed so breakable these days, and he dreaded when he'd have to tell her goodbye again. He couldn't stand the sight of his leaving crushing her every time. He hooked his thumbs under her shirt as he leaned his face down toward her.

"You can stay here, can't you?" She breathed, still holding onto his face. Her eyes stayed closed as she kissed him again. "Please." Her panic was already setting in.

"Shhh." He stroked her hair. "It's going to be okay. I'll stay as long as I can. I promise." He softly kissed her eyelids. Selina smiled a little, taking a deep breath.

"You need a shower and some rest," she pointed out, kissing his lips gently. "But I don't want to let you go."

"You don't have to," Bruce pointed out as he hugged her close. "I've always been a great multitasker." She laughed, her back arching as she closed her eyes again.

"Then let's multitask," Selina whispered, kissing his neck. Bruce's comm crackled.

"So Bats, I relayed the messages I was supposed to, and I'm headed out."

"I'm with him!" Jason called.

"Shut up," Dick mumbled. "Anything else we need to remember?" he asked. "I know I've got to watch the bridge, Arkham patrol has to watch for the silent Infected, and Damian is keeping an eye on the supply troops." Bruce pressed the comm in his ear, still keeping his arm wound around Selina's waist.

"Keep an eye on the citizen's reaction to the food theft. We don't want any possible mutinies within the city." He leaned back down to kiss Selina.

"Yes sir. Get some rest, don't work too hard," Dick laughed. Jason giggled like a child as well. Selina whimpered again and pulled on Bruce's cape, kissing his throat where it met his collar.

"No promises." He turned the comm off and pulled it out of his ear, tossing it aside. He scooped Selina up in his arms. "So shower or rest first?"

"Mmmm both," she cooed, stroking his chin. "I love it when you carry me."

He laughed. "You know rest is starting to seem like less of an option."

"Be patient, Mr. Wayne," she purred in his ear. It was strange; no one but her had called him that in a year.

"I'm not a very patient person," he mumbled, kissing along her collarbone, "Mrs. Wayne." Selina ran her fingers through his hair, pulling it to drag his face away from her neck and back to her lips.

"Neither am I," she kissed him passionately, holding him like she'd never let go.

"One of your finer qualities," he assured her before kissing her back. He cradled her close to his body.

"And here I thought I was perfect," she laughed, her hands frantically yanking his cape over his head.

"All of your qualities are good," he assured her, kissing down her neck. "It's just one of the better ones."

"Bruce," she sighed quietly, leaning her head back. She suddenly curled her leg behind his knee and pulled it out from under him as she shoved him back on the bed, straddling his waist and pulling his bodysuit off slowly. She kissed the bat on his chest. "Don't leave me," she whispered again, pulling it over his head.

"Selina," Bruce said gently. He cupped her face and looked into her eyes. "You know I'm going to have to go back out there."

"But I don't want you to," she breathed, her eyes so fearful it could have broken his heart. She pulled his hands away from her face and placed them on her hips for him, leaning down to kiss his chest.

"I know." He lifted her up by the hips to look into her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing and kiss me," she snapped, her eyes flashing. Selina planted her hands on his shoulders. She wasn't stronger than him, but she was strong enough that he felt the pressure as she kissed him hungrily, inhaling slowly as she did. Bruce hesitated for a second before complying. He lifted one hand up to the back of her neck, the other running down her thigh. Selina moaned into his kiss, her slender fingers unbuckling his utility belt and throwing it away. She yanked his pants down, her lips never leaving his as she pressed herself against him. Bruce pulled her tank top up, breaking off the kiss for a second before finding her lips again and tossing the shirt aside. He ran his hands along the smooth skin of her exposed waist.

She moaned again, her fingernails digging into his skin. He tried to sit up to take her shorts off, but she shoved him back down so quickly he barely had time to cry out, and her hands tightened on his biceps. He couldn't move. He knew she wouldn't let him. She didn't want to waste a second before he had to leave her again. He skimmed his hands up her sides and cupped her face.

"Selina," he whispered.

"Shhh I know," she bit his lip, kissing him hard. Bruce grabbed her shoulders and rolled them over. He knelt above her and stroked her cheek.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured against her lips.

"I know. Are you going to help me, or not?" she mumbled, biting his lips again before kissing up from his collarbone to his ear. Bruce yanked her shorts down. One hand tightened around her thigh while the other held her against him by the small of her back. Selina gasped, moaning, and kissed his ear, her hands still on his arms as she kissed down his jaw. Bruce closed his eyes, but they flew open again as she bit his neck- hard- and he cried out, reflexively throwing her away from him. It had _hurt_. He put a hand to his neck and his blood ran cold when he felt the wetness on his skin. Selina scrambled away from the bed, her head down, and Bruce could hear her gasping across the room, her whole body shaking.

"Bruce?" she whispered, looking at her trembling hands and then touching his blood on her lips. "Bruce!?" her voice rose to a shriek, and she looked up at him, her face twisted in cold terror. His blood was smeared on her lips, and she looked back at the traces of it on her fingertips before screaming, horrified, and stumbling out of the room. She broke into a run in the hallway.

"Selina!" Bruce tried to scramble after before he remembered his cowl lying on the floor. "Damn it!" He picked up the comm. "Red Robin," he demanded. "Are you in the labs?"

"Yeah, I'm just finishing up-"

"-Selina is somewhere in Wayne Tower. Find her," he ordered as he pulled his suit back on and burst out the door.

"What do you mean?" Tim asked unsurely, going to the bank of computers in the next room that housed the building surveillance. He scanned the screens. "Oh, um- North stairwell. Down to basement storage, it looks like- towards the armory?"

"Shit," Bruce swore. He sprinted to the stairwell and jumped over the railings. He fired his grappling hook up as he fell; it yanked him up just before he hit the ground, and then he took off running again. Bruce slammed into the locked armory doors, peering through the glass just as Selina pressed a gun to her head.

"Selina no!" he cried, his voice breaking. "Don't do it!" She turned at the sound of his voice, the gun still pressed to her temple as she covered her mouth with her hand, her body trembling with her sobs. Slowly shaking her head, she closed her eyes, gesturing- begging- for him to look away. " _Please_. We can figure this out," he pleaded.

"Look away!" she screamed, weeping into her hand. Her finger on the trigger shook violently, but she steeled herself and pressed the gun harder into her temple. _You have to. For him. Save him for once._ She peered at his face through the glass, her resolve starting to crack. _He'd do it for you._

"No!" He finally got the lock picked and threw the door open. He flew over to her before she could react and yanked the gun up, his finger sliding behind the trigger so she couldn't pull it. "No." He could feel the pressure of her finger against the trigger. She would have pulled it.

"Yes," she sobbed. "I have to- If I don't- I'll turn- I don't want to be a- a _monster_ ," Selina wailed, struggling to pull away from him as she cried. He tossed the gun away from her and held her close, not letting her move away.

"You're not going to turn into a monster."

"I am!" she pounded on his chest before collapsing against him, stopping her fighting. She sobbed quietly for a moment, before the comm in Bruce's ear broke the silence.

"...Father?" Damian asked unsurely.

"What happened," Dick said quietly. The open line… they'd all heard it. His sons listened in silence on the other ends of the line. Bruce took a deep breath.

"Selina may be experiencing some side effects from her Infection bite."

She burst into a fresh round of tears at his words, struggling to break away from him again. "Bruce you have to let me go, I can't-" she sobbed, reaching a hand towards his face but pulling it back quickly. "I can't hurt you. You have to let me go…" her voice cracked and she looked away, pulling against his hands around her wrists.

"No," he said harshly, "we're going to figure this out." He pulled her back into his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"But what about you?" She whispered in terror against his chest, her eyes wide. Bruce clenched his jaw.

"I'll be fine. We'll have the lab run tests, and if you feel like you need to protect me from you, I can have them restrain you, okay?" He kissed the top of her head. "I won't let anything happen to either of us." Selina trembled in his arms.

"I'm so sorry. You have to forgive me, I…" she whimpered, her fists bunching in his cape.

"It's okay." He took his cape off and draped it over her shoulders to cover her before scooping her up in his arms. "You don't have to apologize."

"It's all my fault," she whimpered, tears still streaming down her face. She looked up at him suddenly. "Oh God, what if you turn!? What if I…" Selina burst into sobs.

"Your blood is clean remember? It's going to be okay." He carried her out into the stairwell. "I'll have them test me too. This isn't your fault." Selina closed her eyes and laid her head against his shoulder, her hand on his chest.

"Don't leave me," she whispered weakly.

* * *

"Harley _Quinn_! Get your little bleached-white keister _in here_! _NOW!_ " The Joker screamed from the other of the three rooms at the top of the Warden's Tower. Harley jumped up from the couch. She glanced at Nygma before hurrying toward the tower control room. Joker met her in the doorway, backing her up into the living room again.

"Yes Mistah J?" she asked tentatively.

"What the hell happened!?" He hadn't spoken to her since the last of the citizens had dispersed with their meager helpings of food. "How did you let Dent get captured!?" Joker shouted, glaring at her.

"I... I mean, Batman already had him. Crane threw me into the van and... We couldn't go back for him." She clasped her hands behind her back and bounced on her heels as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"So you're blaming _Jonathan_ , then?" He watched her, snapping his fingers. Nygma shot out of the corner, growling and reaching for her as he caught on the end of his chain. She'd only been a few feet away.

"No!" she cried jumping as far away as she could. "I'm sayin' we couldn't stop him from being taken!"

"Well evidently you didn't try hard enough," Joker growled, advancing toward her. His belt was folded in his hand, and he slapped Nygma's shoulder as he walked past him towards Harley, sending the zombie fleeing away into its corner. The Joker's nose was inches away from Harley's, his smile twisted down angrily, his green eyes shining.

"I'm sorry, Puddin." Harley cowered backward. "I'll try harder next time. I promise."

"We take care of our own," Joker grabbed her face, making her look at him. "We need to bring Dent home."

"Okay," Harley nodded vigorously, "we will."

"Okay." Joker narrowed his eyes at her, cocking his head a bit. "Smile, Harley. You're still alive, aren't you? What reason do you have not to smile?" His laugh cut through the silence as he walked away from her, tossing his belt onto the desk.

"Well," she strolled forward a little, "we didn't get that much food. What are we gonna do, Mistah J?"

He looked over his shoulder a bit and then took his coat off, draping it over the back of his chair. His thinly muscled, white-skinned arms were exposed by the torn-off sleeves of his amber Arkham Asylum jumper. "I haven't considered it," he mused, his scarlet lips pulling back in a smile again.

"You'll think a something." She shrugged and perched herself on a table, her legs swinging. "Ya always do."

"I do, don't I? I suppose we'll just conduct another raid. Batman has two places for storage, the slaughterhouse, and a place in Red Hook. But that's far past Wayne Tower and past the GCPD. It's dangerous." The Joker turned around, unbuttoning the top of his jumper and letting it drop around his hips. Underneath it, he wore a green tank top as emerald as the hair falling in his eyes. Harley watched him and grinned.

"That's all righty. Danger is my type."

"We can't afford any more casualties. Unless, of course, Dent had gotten _himself_ caught," he smirked, leaning against his desk with his hands spread out on the papers littering it's surface. Old newspaper clippings, scrapped plans, and crumpled photos. His eyes flashed as he looked at her. Harley pursed her lips. He _knew_.

"He was tryin' ta get away with us... in the end."

"Yes, in the end. Yet it's hard to be loyal when you only give fifty percent," he broke into laughter.

"But it wasn't his fault!" Harley defended. "Ya know how… indecisive he can be."

"Everyone's indecisive when they've got multiple voices in their heads," Joker sighed. "But he made a _split_ second decision. I just wish I could say it was the _right_ one."

"Ya can't be mad at him, Mistah J," she pleaded. "He couldn't help himself."

"He coulda kept his flirtatious comments to himself, that's for damn sure," Joker snorted. "And I know. We're all mad. And it's _perfect._ Why condemn him for his perfection?"

"Well he's not _half_ as perfect as you," Harley joked hopefully. He smiled and started to laugh, turning around to look at her.

"You flatter me, Doll, I'm _flattered_ ," he grinned, crossing the room to her.

"Well ya know it's true, Puddin." She beamed.

"Oh I know it's true," he laughed, running a finger along her cheekbone.

"So you're not mad?" She leaned forward on the table.

"Mad, _yes_ ," he laughed. "Out of my mind. But… angry? Not as much as I was upon discovery of Two-Face's… well, two-faced-ness." He looked down and giggled again, brushing her cherry red pigtail over her shoulder.

"It really wasn't his fault." Harley shrugged before reaching up to brush a lock of hair out of his face. Joker smiled, his hands wrapping around both of her pigtails, the red and black standing out starkly against his white skin. He pulled her nearer to him, his scarlet lips brushing hers.

"There aren't many of us left," he said quietly, his breath whispering against her lips as they pulled back over his teeth in a grin, his eyes crinkling as he watched her, his gaze guarded. "We've got to keep together."

"Of course," Harley breathed, her eyes glancing between his eyes and his lips. He continued to smile at her.

"Am I making you uncomfortable? This close?" Joker laughed quietly, licking his lips. He continued to stare into her eyes, seeming to look through her in his vacancy, and yet, he seemed to see her. The _real_ her. She shook her head.

"No," Harley gasped. She grabbed onto the hem of his shirt. "Not at all."

"Good," he laughed shortly and leaned his head back, his green hair falling over his face again as he closed his eyes. His lips brushed her forehead and traced over her closed eyes, her cheek; gently trailing over her own lips. She could feel him grinning in his ghoulish way, like he always did when playing his games. Her breath whimpered past her lips as her hands tightened in his shirt and she pulled him closer, inching her lips closer to his. He leaned away teasingly, but barely. It was a slight movement. He wasn't turning her down so much as playing with her, now. His hands tugged at her hair a bit and he craned his neck towards her, their lips finally meeting.

Harley sighed into the kiss. She pulled him desperately closer by the shirt as she tilted her face up toward him. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she kissed him hungrily. The Joker grinned, chuckling into her kiss as he pulled her hair, dragging her closer. Harley happily complied, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed herself against him. He broke away suddenly with a gasp. He laughed merrily, his cunning green eyes meeting hers again, his eyebrows raised. Joker kissed her lips harshly, his hand cupping the back of her head before he broke it off again.

"Harley Quinn, you little porcelain tease," he muttered, beaming. "What am I to do with you?"

"Well I was kinda hopin' you'd keep doin' what ya were doing," she said, breathing heavily. Her cheeks were flushed, and her fingers played with the back of his shirt. Joker's smile twisted down a bit in a frown, before he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, What the hell," he laughed. "When in 'Arkham,' right? Just this once." The Joker lifted her off of her feet suddenly, his arms wrapped around her waist as he kissed her again. Harley giggled and grabbed his face as she kissed him back ecstatically. Joker pulled away from her lips teasingly again, hovering just in her reach, waiting like a dog with a treat balanced on its nose for him to allow her to take it. He set her on the ground again and dragged her, laughing, into the makeshift bedroom off of the control room. He threw her in and followed, catching her as she turned around and he kissed her furiously, still smiling against her lips. Harley clung to him by his shirt, savoring his kiss before she broke it off.

"I love ya, Puddin," she beamed.

"Hush, Doll, I wouldn't want you to ruin it," he laughed loudly, and then grabbed her by the arm, throwing her on the bed; laughing as he followed.


	6. The One At The Botanical Gardens

"What are the results?" Bruce stormed into the lab, his cape sweeping behind him. He was at a small break in his patrol, and like every break over the past few days, he'd come here. Scientists and doctors scurried out of his way as he stopped at Tim's desk.

Selina was in a glass treatment room just beyond it, lying sedated on a cot. It had been Barbara's idea to sedate her between tests in case Selina decided she was a danger again. But it had been at Selina's insistence that she was in a room locked from the outside.

"Is there anything new?" Bruce demanded. Tim looked up at him tiredly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"The latest MRI scans are in," he said, shuffling papers around on his desk.

"And?" He hedged, passing his son and pressing a hand gently to the glass. Selina was pale where she lay on the cot.

" _And_ she experienced some brain degeneration similar to the Infected before we could give her the transfusion. We warned you this may be a possibility." Tim stood up and moved by Bruce. "Her frontal lobe was affected. She shows some signs similar to an Infected, namely the urge to bite, rage and violence, and a craving for raw meat. We got her the transfusion before the damage could become too extensive, but it can be triggered by high emotions especially fear and stress." He glanced at Batman. "I'm sorry Bruce."

"You know the rules, Red Robin," he said coldly. "But is she… still herself? I mean… is she... Catwoman?" He looked at her uncertainly.

"Yes," Tim said decisively. "There's just a part of her that's- to use the accurate word- a zombie as well. She should be able to control those instincts, but it's something she'll have to work on." He sighed. "This has actually been a big eye opener for looking for a cure. Not only do we have to find a way to flush the infection from the system, but we have to find a way to reverse or prevent the damage it does to the brain too. Selina is going to be dependent like everyone else for us to find a cure. Until then, she should be fine, she'll just have to control her more savage urges."

"Alright," Bruce said quietly. He turned away from the glass to look at Tim. "Thank you, Red Robin. I… You're doing well. Keep up the good work."

"She's going to be okay, just help her through it." Tim turned away and went back to his desk.

"And how are-" he cleared his throat- "how are you?" Bruce didn't know how long it'd been since he'd talked to Tim. All of them were separated so often that it was hard to give any of his children any attention.

"Good." He shrugged. "Busy."

"I know. Red Robin I know that this is… stressful. And we're putting a lot of pressure on you, but I want you to know, you don't have to handle it alone. I _can_ help. There are plenty of other scientists, and Barbara is here to help too. If you need any, we're here to provide it." Bruce put a hand on his shoulder. "You're doing well. You're doing me proud," he watched him, the third ward that he'd taken in when Tim's parents had died. He was strong, clever, arguably the smartest, resourceful; Bruce hadn't been lying. He was immensely proud of him.

"Thanks, but I'm fine." He looked up at Bruce. "You don't have to worry. Steph does enough for everyone," he added with a small smile.

"Good. I'm glad you two are… well. I _do_ worry about you, Tim," he said quietly. "I worry about all of you. Daily. Keep up the good work," Bruce commented as he walked away, gazing at Selina one last time before heading out of the labs to resume his patrol. He pressed his comm. "Nightwing. Robin. How are things at Arkham?"

"Slow. But I'm sure they'll pick up come daybreak," Damian answered.

"Nightwing?" Batman asked, and there was still no answer. "Nightwing, report."

Silence.

"I'll go check on him. He's probably just forgotten to turn his comm on. _Again._ " Robin sighed. "Nightwing, are you there?" he tried, still to no answer.

Dick swung his escrima stick again, the sharp prongs shooting out of the end as he drove them into a zombie's skull, electrocuting it where it stood. It didn't stay down for long, and Dick sprinted further away, still pursued by the hoard of Infected chasing him. They'd been on his tail for nearly twenty minutes now, relentlessly pursuing him, their numbers growing. Dick spun on his heels and slid on the pavement, taking aim with his tranq gun. He fired a few shots, taking down a couple of zombies, before they were on him once again.

Backflipping away as quickly as he could, Dick shot the grappling hook out of the end of his escrima stick and it caught the bar of the light pole above him, pulling him out of their reach. He could feel their clawed and bloodied hands scrabbling at his legs, their frigid grips releasing as he kicked and swung up to balance carefully on the street light.

"Batman and Robin- I'm alright. Just dealing with a group of Infected I came across. Sorry to not check in."

"That's all right. Careful," Batman answered, and Robin stopped his running towards Dick's tracer, slowly turning back to return to his own post.

"Cross my heart," Dick sighed, looking down.

The zombies were crowded around the pole, snarling and moaning in frustration. Dick shuddered. The deadened white eyes of at least twenty-five infected victims were locked on him, their bloodied arms outstretched and clawing at the dark sky where they couldn't see him, but knew he was. Dick paused to catch his breath, silently hating himself as he pulled out his gun, ejecting the clip of tranquilizer darts and inserting a magazine of live rounds. Batman had modified all of their weaponry to be versatile. Dick looked down, taking aim. Some of these Infected weren't even that far along, but his jaw clenched as he began firing down, each one a headshot between the eyes, taking down fifteen of them before his gun clicked empty.

"Damn," Dick swore, replacing the tranquilizer rounds- what little there was left- and holstering the gun. He took a deep breath and dropped.

The instant his boots made contact with an Infected's face, he felt the hands on his jacket, yanking his hair; dragging him backward. He swung an elbow, and it connected with the nose of the woman behind him. She screeched angrily, and her head snapped back. Another nearly bit his pant leg as he kicked it in the face, wrenching his arms away from the victims pulling him away. All in the span of a few seconds, he had crouched, leapt up; his abs tightened, his knees came to his chest, and he spun forward, flipping clean over their heads. He landed lightly on his toes outside of the circle, but he wasn't safe for long. His speed was easily surpassed by the Infected, turning on him as he ran. He could feel them close on his heels as he drew his escrima sticks and fired his grappling hook into the eaves of the building he ran alongside, and it pulled him upward.

His hand suddenly slipped from the escrima stick and he fell the six feet he'd gone, dragged by the clawed hands around his ankle. He barely had time to gasp before his face hit the pavement. Nightwing felt his skin split over his eye as his vision went black for a moment with the force, and his fingers clawed instinctively at the cracked pavement before he regained a bit of his senses, bringing his leg up and kicking at the hands as hard as he could. They didn't release, and more tore through his pants to his leg. Crying out in pain, he pushed off of the pavement and flipped over, pulling his leg back and throwing the zombie off balance. It fell and finally released his ankle, but the others had descended on him, seven now, at least- Dick reached into his belt for a shock pellet and tossed it at their feet. It electrocuted the nearest four and they screeched horribly, falling into the others behind them as Dick jumped up- ignoring the pain- and tore his gun out of it's holster, praying his trembling hands wouldn't cause him to miss as he began pulling the trigger, firing tranq darts into the zombie's foreheads. Two were left when the trigger snapped sharply and the gun jammed. They hissed loudly as they advanced, claw like hands reaching for him. Nightwing watched as a bullet passed clean through the first one's head dead center, dark blood splattering out behind it, then the other. They collapsed into lifeless heaps.

"Do I get a thank you, or is it still a no no that I shot 'em?" Harley Quinn asked as she strolled up behind him, decocking the hammer on her revolver before reholstering it.

"Thank the ever-loving _God_ ," Dick gasped, stumbling a bit before dropping against the building beside him. He panted slightly, blood dripping over his mask and down his cheek from the cut just above his eyebrow as he looked up at her, still dizzy. He probably had a concussion. Nightwing looked down again. He was scraped and bruised, and the claw marks in his legs needed attention, but he just wanted to sit for a moment. Looking up at Harley again, he rested his head against the brick behind him and smiled. "I was along the wall when they just came _pouring_ out of the entrance- there had to have been thirty of them- thanks for finishing that off for me," he panted, gesturing halfheartedly at the two dead zombies. "I would've been zombie chow if you hadn't shown up." Dick's breathy laugh turned into a groan as he sat up a bit, pulling a small bottle of antiseptic and some gauze pads and tape out of his belt. He yanked his pant leg up and dumped the antiseptic over the cuts, quickly wrapping a pad around them and taping it securely in place. He tugged his pant leg back down over his boot and leaned against the wall again, closing his eyes. He mopped a gloved hand across his face, leaving the electric blue stripe down the back of his hand and over his middle and ring fingers stained with blood.

"Well if ya didn't get 'em all," Harley stepped closer to him, snatching the gauze from his hand, "fresh blood is _not_ gonna help your situation." She cleaned up the cut above his eye and put a gauze pad over it. She tilted his face to make sure the blood wouldn't run into his eyes. "There."

"Thanks," he smiled a little, watching her. "I thought you followed me all the time. How come you didn't get here to save my ass sooner?"

"Horde 'a zombies coming through the gate?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "I think I'll pass on being right on their tail."

"Gee thanks," Dick laughed breathlessly. It had been a couple of days since he'd seen her, but she hadn't changed at all. He was starting to like having her around.

"Ya know, I'm starting ta think ya just attract zombies like a magnet," she told him. "Or do ya just got a thing for 'em because I always see you with 'em." She grinned.

"I'm always with you, too," he pointed out. Harley laughed.

"But that's not by your choice is it?" She winked. Dick smiled and sighed slowly as he stood.

"You may not give me much of a choice, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it," he smirked, and then stumbled on his hurt leg, leaning against the lamppost and sucking in a breath. When she reached out to help him he held up a hand. "No, I've got it, I'm alright."

"Oh right," she held her hands up, "male ego thing. I forgot." She smiled at him. "Well ya better not slow me down." She skipped forward and grinned back at him. Dick grit his teeth and started after her, smirking.

"So where are we going, if you're leading the way?" he asked, following her, ignoring the pain in his leg.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "I just kinda wanted ta watch ya grimace in pain."

"You're a sweet girl," he snapped sarcastically. "I can't believe you don't have more friends,"

"I know! And with my winnin' personality." She laughed and elbowed him. "So what about you, huh? How'd it go with _your_ friend?" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Just friends," he sighed, looking out over the river to where the sky was starting to lighten.

"Uh oh, that sigh didn't sound good. What happened?" she asked gently.

"Nothing much. She just... Well she likes that we're friends. I mean I do, too, but..." He shrugged. "Oh well."

" _But_ ," Harley pried, nudging him with her shoulder.

"But I miss having someone to rely on, and someone relying on me. We used to have that and it would be nice to again." Dick smiled gently.

"Then time for ya to go onto part two: find somebody new. And regale me with the serial drama," she added.

"Can do," he promised. "Though ladies seem to be scarce nowadays." He turned and started walking back the way he came, knowing she'd follow him.

"Well if ya attract them as well as you attract zombies, you'll be fine." She waved it off and burst into laughter.

"Seemed to always work like that." He laughed as well, walking back towards the bridge as the sky grew lighter.

"Ah ha you did it!" Harley cried, jumping forward and pointing accusingly at him. "You did the sad 'before this all happened' reminiscing thing! Everyone does it and it's _so_ depressin'. How can you live just wallowin' in how ya wish the world still was?"

"I don't. Well I try not to. If you think I'm bad, you should see Batman," he laughed, and then looked down, thinking for a moment. "But you're right."

"I mean can ya think how crushing it would be to think about all the things ya miss all the time? Like cell phones and ice cream. Just thinkin' about all that poor melted ice cream in those powerless freezers is enough to do anyone in," she said wistfully. "Just think about all the positive stuff. You're alive," she pointed out, "and so is that friend of yours. And ya never know, you might be able to find a girl who's not a flesh craving corpse." She grinned.

"You seem to be discrediting yourself in that category," he glanced at her, an eyebrow raised, the corner of his lips turned up in a smile. Harley looked at him in surprise before a sly smile slid across her face. She stepped in front of him, forcing him to a stop.

"Well, stud, I thought ya were looking for a relationship," she put a hand on his chest, "and I've already got one of those." She stood on tiptoe, her face inches from him. "But if you're looking for something else..." She leaned toward him before dropping back onto her heels and walking away as she smirked over her shoulder.

"I'll have to consider that offer," he said smoothly, following her again. "How is that relationship, by the way? How does that work?"

"Just like any other relationship," she said with a slow smile, "just with a little extra crazy."

"I really find that hard to believe," he commented.

"Why?" she asked, staring at him and instantly getting defensive. "Why is it so hard to believe? We may not have a perfect relationship, but I love him!"

"Hey, I don't mean you can't love him- the white skin and colored hair looks good on you, but- I just mean he seems a little... Harsh." Dick glanced at her.

"He can be a bit controlling," Harley admitted. "But he always makes me smile."

"I suppose that's a good quality," he agreed. She couldn't help but notice that he didn't try to tell her that it was a bad idea or couldn't be. He accepted it. They rounded the corner and the bridge out of Uptown towered down the street before them.

"So how have ya been since I last saw ya?" she asked, changing the subject. "Anything new?"

"A few things on the confusing side, some on the sad, a few on the good- but I don't know if I can tell you," Dick smirked. "I don't trust you _that_ much yet."

"Well can you at least tell me how Harvey is? Have youse guys been experimentin' on him?" She demanded. "Is he okay?"

"What? No, he's _fine,_ " Dick assured her. "He was Batman's friend too, you know. The Harvey side. We're keeping him locked up for the time being, but we're not doing 'experiments'. And by the way, I don't think it's very nice that you tried to steal our food," he smirked. He would have been angry about the dead officers, as well, but it had been Scarecrow's toxins. She herself hadn't laid a finger on them, so he decided to brush it off.

"As long as you don't hurt him," Harley warned. "And not _all_ of it," she smiled, "just enough to get by."

"That's good. Believe it or not, we don't want you to starve." Dick started walking across the bridge. The sun was barely starting to rise on the horizon.

"There's still a chance of it." She walked beside him. "Did you know the rivers around Gotham got so polluted that most of the fish population died?" It was a rhetorical question. "We were kinda environmental dicks before."

"Yeah, I figured." He glanced up. "Stay close. Don't look at them. Be quiet," he said, his voice hushed. He was in front of her a bit. He took her hand to guide her, holding her close to his broad shoulder as they passed the policemen, eyeing the pair suspiciously but they let him continue.

"Aren't you gonna get in trouble?" she whispered.

"Strict don't ask don't tell policy," he mumbled under his breath. " _But,_ like I said, I don't trust you that much yet." She felt the cold metal of a handcuff clip around her wrist, the other half around Dick's. He grinned.

"Kinky." She smirked.

"Precaution," he corrected, continuing on his way. He didn't take his hand away from hers, their fingers laced together to ease the strain of the cuffs on their wrists. "You don't seem like a threat right now, but I don't want you pulling that hammer out of nowhere and getting the drop on me. Not while I'm showing you around civilian territory." He walked to his motorcycle. "Looks like one of us has to stretch. Do you wanna drive?"

"I'm still just left wonderin' where ya think I keep a hammer in this outfit," Harley laughed.

"It always seemed to come out of nowhere before it hit me in the face," Dick deadpanned, getting on the bike. "Are you driving or not?"

"Are ya really offering?" Harley beamed at him. She ran her hand across the bike. It obviously didn't run on gas, but besides the van, this would be the first vehicle she'd seen running in nearly a year. "I don't even know where we're going... Or what you're doin' really."

"Honestly, you were right. I've been down. I want to be a little loose for a while, and you-" he pointed a finger accusingly at her- "were being just as weepy about the past as I was. Talking about how you watched us cuz you had nothing to do and nowhere to go, so I'm giving you somewhere to go. Mornings constitute shift changes, you should know that by now. My next shift is city patrol. Nothing much happens during the day, and I have two others out and about as well- so I'm giving you a chance. This is me telling you that you can get on this bike with me and go wherever in the city that you've missed- under supervision- for a day." He watched her. He'd weighed his options. He wanted to do something nice for her. He couldn't tell why. Dick pressed his comm. "Nightwing reporting switch from Arkham to City Patrol," he checked in. Batman didn't respond, he was probably already at Selina's side; but Dick knew he'd heard. He switched his comm off again, looking at Harley expectantly.

"Really?" She beamed.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" He smiled sincerely, gesturing for her to get on the bike. Harley squealed and hugged him. She quickly climbed on in front of him, mindful of their attached hands. She froze once she was sitting.

"I never actually considered where I'd wanna go."

"It's your choice. Within city limits; when you're ready," Dick smiled, his face near her ear as he watched her over her shoulder, his voice quiet. The handcuffs didn't allow for much room between them. His hand rested outside of hers on the handlebar. "If you can't decide, just drive," he whispered in her ear with a smile. Harley started the engine and laughed at the sound of it roaring to life.

"Okay," she breathed. Her smile grew wider as the bike leaped forward. This time she wasn't going for speed like she had with the van, she didn't want to miss anything around her. Dick laughed a little behind her, his arm coming up around her waist gently so he could hold on, the hand beside hers on the handlebar coming a little closer.

"Just don't kill us," he laughed, again whispering beside her ear.

"Would I ever get ta do this again if I did?" She glanced back at him, still grinning.

"Definitely not," he agreed. He kept his head over her shoulder, avoiding her black and red pigtails whipping in the wind. She laughed, weaving through the streets. There weren't many people around, but the city had a different feel than grungy Arkham City. She slowed down as she passed a building.

"You guys still have full power?" she asked, looking at a light in a window, still turned on in the dim morning light.

"No, we have enough power for the people still here. They can't be wasteful. Power is at about twenty percent," Dick replied.

"Well that's better than what we've got." Harley shrugged. "So are there not many people left? It seems deserted around here."

"No, we're in Midtown. Most of the citizens have…" Dick trailed off, biting his lip. She seemed so innocent and unassuming, it was too easy to forget who she was loyal to. _The Joker._ It was difficult to pick and choose what he could and should tell her, with the assumption that everything he said would be relayed to the Joker. "Yeah. Not many people around here anymore," Dick agreed, looking down. He wished he could trust her.

"Well okay Mistah Cryptic." Harley kept driving, looking around at everything. "Is there anything I should see? What's still standin'?"

"A lot of things, actually," he narrowed his eyes as he looked over her shoulder down the street. "The Gotham City Opera House is still standing by the river, and the overgrown botanical gardens are still there. The fairgrounds and the boardwalk are still there too, though that place gives me the creeps."

"Ooo! The botanical gardens." Harley made a sharp turn around a corner. "We gotta go, so I can tell Red all about it."

"Whoa, careful-" Dick laughed. "Um… Red?"

"Poison Ivy!" Harley yelled over her shoulder as she sped down the empty Gotham streets.

"Oh, of course," Dick mumbled. He began to have the first shadows of doubts creeping into his mind. She slowed down when they entered the weed infested parking lot. There were a few abandoned cars still parked in the stalls.

"Yeah, I told ya I still had a _few_ friends left." She smiled at him as she parked the motorcycle in the stall closest to the front doors. Dick carefully got off of the motorcycle and helped her off, holding her hand that was cuffed to his. He turned and looked up at the massive glass and metal greenhouse, sparkling in the daylight. Panes were cracked and missing, and one of the front doors was hanging off of the hinges. Dick led the way into the overgrown gardens. "Oh my gosh, how bad do ya think it's gotten with no one to take care of it?" she asked him before skipping forward. Dick cried out as the handcuff on his wrist pulled, and he stumbled after her.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, catching up to her and looking around. Various paths wound through the overgrown foliage, and flowers bloomed everywhere in the sunlight, filling the air with their sickly sweet scent.

"Wow," Harley said in awe as she looked around, "I don't know what any a these are called." She swiped her hand along a fern.

"Weird, huh? That they could all still be here, growing, filling this space-" he looked around at the glass structure caging them in- "beautiful in their own way, thriving even though they're confined to one place. And still, we don't know their names, 'Harley Quinn'," he smiled, putting his hand in his pocket as he watched her, smiling gently.

"Ooo! I think there's a name plate under here." Harley knelt down and lifted a clump of leaves out of the way. "Never mind." She stood back up and smiled at him. "It just says 'don't touch the plants.'"

"Even flowers need a little care sometimes," he laughed, passing her and leading her down one of the overgrown paths in the gardens.

"You and Red would get along." Harley tilted her head up, looking at the vines snaking their way to the ceiling. "Do ya think this is what the whole world will look like if the Infection wipes us out?"

Dick paused, considering this. "Maybe. I think… Well sure, why not?" he shrugged.

"Well at least it would look pretty." She smiled, walking close enough to bump into him.

"It'd be a pity that no one would be there to see it, though," Dick smiled, and then sputtered and flailed a hand in front of his face as he walked through a cobweb. "Except the spiders, I guess…" He stepped closer to her, glancing back at the path behind them.

"Don't tell me the almighty Nightwing is afraid of a little arachnid," she laughed at him.

He glanced at her before scowling and stepping away again. "We all are afraid of something."

"I get that, but spiders?" she taunted. "That's so cute."

"It's not- what's so- they're just gross, okay!?" he muttered, his cheeks flushing as he bit his lip. He was regretting handcuffing her; all he wanted to do now was disappear behind her in embarrassment.

"Aw you're blushing." She laughed before squealing as she ducked under a spider web she hadn't seen. She covered her mouth. "That doesn't mean anything," she threatened. Dick laughed and then put a hand over his mouth to smother it. He shook his head.

"It means nothing," he agreed, snorting again, before bursting into laughter. "Don't tell me the infamous Harley Quinn is afraid of spiders," he mimicked, grinning.

"Only when they're close." She elbowed him. Dick laughed, trying to dodge her elbow. He caught his hurt leg on one of the small fences lining the dense bushes of flowers growing and cried out, stumbling to the side. Dick tried to catch himself as he fell into the brush, yanking Harley with him; he winced and reached up for his leg, only to find her face inches from his, laying on his chest.

"Ow," he mumbled, and then sucked in a breath as a wave of pain shot from the cuts. "Sorry," Dick laughed a bit. Harley stared into his eyes behind his mask. She smiled slightly.

"I think you got the wrong impression of me. I'm not that kinda girl."

"And despite what you think, I'm really not that kind of guy," he laughed quietly.

"Good because you haven't even bought me dinner yet." She winked before sitting up. "Did ya hurt yourself?"

"No, just caught my leg," he laughed, looking around. "It's kinda pretty in here." Harley scooted away from him a little, brushing her pants off.

"Yeah," she looked at the plants around their heads, "it is." Dick laughed lightly and stood up, leading her out of the little cavern that they'd created in the foliage. They stepped back onto the path and continued through the gardens, nearing the center where a fountain once stood. It was overgrown with a creeping vine now. In the little plaza they were surrounded by the bursting colors of hundreds of different flowers, their scents all mingling in the warm sunlight streaming through the intricate glass and metal dome above their heads. Dick beamed around them, letting out a slow whistle. Harley grabbed his hand so she wouldn't yank at the handcuffs as she pulled him forward to look at some rosebuds. "These I _do_ know the name of."

"Yeah. You're gorgeous. _They're_ gorgeous, I mean. I've always loved red," he sighed, and he found himself watching her again. He looked around, enjoying the light. Harley smiled up at him while he was looking around. He was cute, she would admit it, and a lot more welcoming than she thought any of the Bats would be. She hadn't thought she would see life outside of Arkham again, but here she was.

"Hey Nightwing." He glanced at her. "Thanks for bringin' me here."

He smiled at her. "Of course. In my opinion, even with your history, no lady as nice as you should have to see nothing but those concrete walls," Dick chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. Harley beamed at him and laced her arm through his as they walked along.

"So now what?"

"Unfortunately, I should probably return to my patrol. But I'll walk you home," he smirked as they started back the way they came.

"I bet nobody's been in here in a year," Harley mused. "It's just sitting here vacant and full of life, and no one's bothered to come in." Dick watched her as she looked around the path. He couldn't explain the knot in his stomach.

"Like I said. They flourish on their own, but that doesn't mean they couldn't do with a little love."

 _This was a mistake._

She turned and looked at him, only to find him staring at her again, and this time, he didn't look away. She couldn't see his eyes behind his mask, but something about his serene expression was incredibly... Gentle. The corner of his lips pulled up.

"We'd better get going," he said after a moment. He turned and began walking again, when a six foot zombie flew out of the thick plant cover and tackled Harley, screeching horribly. Dick was yanked back by the cuff as she hit the ground, her arms pinned under its leg as it sat up and bared its teeth to lunge down at her face. The monster growled and leaned forward to bite her- but it was thrown off when Dick kicked it to the side and rolled. His uncuffed hand slipped under Harley's back, and she gasped sharply as she was lifted off of the ground, tucked to his chest as they rolled closer to the zombie. Nightwing's speed was incredible, and she glimpsed his face, set and serious, before they were suddenly on their feet. Dick swung her behind him and took a fighting stance.

The zombie watched him, vacant eyes lazily following his movements before it lurched forward. The wingding in the spring loaded holster on Dick's wrist shot into his hand, and he drove it between the zombie's eyes with a sickening squelching sound. Dropping instantly, it laid motionless at their feet. It couldn't have been more than a day old. Dick panted, checking their surroundings before pulling Harley quickly down the path. "There may be more," he said urgently, not looking back, his wingding still embedded in the zombie's brain as they rushed further from it, down the path; out the doors.

"So I was wrong about us being the only ones here," Harley gasped, still shaken. As it was leaning down to bite her, Harley had seen rope burns on the zombie's neck. Whoever the person was before he turned into a monster had probably come here to commit suicide in someplace beautiful and distanced from the world, only to become part of the horrible world they were trying to escape. She'd seen it often enough at Arkham, if you didn't shoot someone in the head, they'd turn into a monster when they died. Harley shook her head. "Have I ever told you how _much_ I hate the smell of zombies." She wrinkled her nose.

"I think you mentioned it," Dick laughed breathlessly, getting back on the bike. Harley sat down behind him and put her hand- still handcuffed to his- on the handlebar. Dick laced his fingers gently between hers, balancing his hand over hers to steer the bike as they shot away back towards Arkham City. He was clearly still spooked as well. Harley rested her chin on his shoulder as she watched the city go past. She had somehow expected Gotham to still be bursting with life and noise. While there were notable differences between it and Arkham, part of her had kept the hope it was a practical paradise compared to behind the wall. She sighed when she saw the bridge approaching. Paradise or not, it was better than what she was used to.

"You could probably let me off here. I don't think I'll have a problem crossing the bridge this time. It's not like they want me to stay on this side."

"No," he glanced at her and slowed down as they crossed the bridge. "I mean... I'm sorry, but I can't let you off until we're in Uptown," Dick answered. _I want you to get back safe._ He stopped just after the bridge and dug around in his pocket for the key to the handcuffs.

In the daylight she could see him clearer than she usually did, from a distance or in the dark. Harley realized she was staring at his profile and quickly turned away. She moved to get off the motorcycle, forgetting they were attached and pulling her arm back. Dick's arm was yanked behind him, and he was pulled around with the movement; he reached his other arm up to stop her from getting up as he tried to say something. Harley shoved his shoulder. He lost his balance completely, tipping over as the handcuffs dragged Harley off the motorcycle with him. His leg twisted during the fall, and he rolled to avoid hitting it. They both tried to use their attached hands to break the fall, reaching in opposite directions. Harley landed on her shoulder, and her other arm was yanked around as Dick tried to catch himself from crushing her.

"Oh, ow, ah," Harley groaned. "That was my bad. Sorry. I thought you were attacking me. This one is all my fault." She squinted up at him. She was lying on her back with her bruised shoulder lifted up; her other arm was laying next to where Dick had managed to get his hand braced to avoid landing on her. "Sorry."

"No, that's ok," Dick smiled, wincing. She could see his eyes behind the lenses of his mask, looking between hers as he exhaled sharply. "I'm pretty beat up, people are gonna wonder what happened," he said quietly.

"Just tell 'em that ya like it rough." She grinned as she adjusted her shoulder. Dick laughed. He lifted his hand, holding himself up with the cuffed hand, and reached over to unlock them. He still held himself above her.

"Well that wouldn't be totally out of character," Dick smirked, looking at her again. They hadn't realized just how close they were, his lips inches from hers. the air was hot between them, and she smelled sweet, like cherries. Dick blinked slowly. "I should... Go. I have to go." He bit his lip, standing and moving away from her. He hastily got back on his bike.

"Well okay then." Harley stood up, rolling her shoulder. "See ya in a couple of days!" she called as she started walking away. Dick beamed, watching her go.

"Yeah. See you in a couple of days," he said, smiling a little.


	7. The One With Poison Ivy

Dick sped back into Midtown Gotham, continuing south.

This was bad. Not only had he broken nearly a dozen rules by talking to her, abandoning his post, and neglecting his duties; he'd taken her out of Uptown. It was his job to keep people like her in confinement, and he'd given her a way out. Even worse- he'd showed her that he had weaknesses. Batman's golden rule- the mask hides the emotion. It was the easiest way to do the job they did, conceal the identity, conceal the emotion.

Dick had never been particularly good at it.

He stopped and parked his bike before walking over the bridge to Downtown Gotham. Downtown wasn't exactly lively, but it was the place that felt the most normal. There weren't many people outside; they were either working or had nowhere to go. Some kids played in the street, carefully supervised by watchful eyes within apartment windows.

The people always seemed tired. City people, born and bred, were learning to till fields to try to grow even a measly amount of crops, businessmen who had to do their part to keep the city from falling apart, police officers with guarded expressions, mothers who carried flares to alert guards of an outbreak.

And everything was rationed. Power, running water, toilet paper, candles, and especially food. Rations were distributed from the old City Hall after scouting trips. The citizens took everything relatively well. Alcohol had been eradicated from the city to avoid conflict, and only the police force and the people under Batman were allowed to carry guns. The crime had dropped; there was zero tolerance for it. Criminals were sent to prison, and the only prison still operational was Arkham City. The GCPD handled small matters such as food theft and civil disputes, but the people were relatively happy. They were given enough to survive.

Anyone Nightwing passed stopped to wave at him, and the children would gawk and point. Batman ran the city with absolute control, but it was the only thing that kept the people alive. Members of the Batfamily were treated like heroes.

Every once and awhile there would be a party. In the evening, once the work was done, the people would gather together on some deserted street, and anyone that had an instrument and could play it would provide music. The people may be beaten down, but they were grateful. Gotham was one of the last safe havens left.

"Robin to Nightwing," his comm sounded. He pressed it.

"Go ahead."

"You headed to City Patrol a bit early, didn't you?"

Dick could hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke, and he rolled his eyes. "I was finished in Arkham. You and Batman have begun your break with Selina?" he responded.

"Of course," Damian sighed.

"Good luck," Bruce added.

"Blackbat, Spoiler, you've started your work in Arkham?"

"Affirmative, oh Commander," Steph giggled.

Dick nodded. "Batwoman, I assume you've begun your supply run?"

"Couple of hours ago at sun-up. Where have you been, Bird-brain?"

"Busy," he smiled.

"No need to ask," Jason said behind him, and Dick jumped. "I'm here too."

"Alright that's everyone. Keep me posted." He switched his comm off and looked at Jason. "Good to see you're taking your job so seriously," he smirked.

"More seriously than you apparently."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. A little girl sprinted across the street to him and grabbed his hand, dangling from his arm. Dick smiled and laughed, and the girl's sister watched timidly from the curb.

"Why there is nothing I could possibly mean by that." Jason rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Hood!" she cried, abandoning Nightwing and reaching for Jason. Her sister suddenly sprinted over.

"Caty, stop it," she ordered. The younger girl's eyes began to water.

"Hey, no crocodile tears," Jason said, squatting down in front of the little girl. "Let's turn that frown," he hefted her up by her legs, "upside down." He dangled her upside down and spun her around as she giggled wildly. Dick laughed and the girl's older sister smiled, covering her mouth. A few pedestrians watched them with contented expressions on their faces.

"Come on, Jason. We ought to be moving on."

"Aww, can't you stay?" the older sister asked. "We were going to play tag..."

"Yeah Nightwing," Jason scoffed as he tossed Caty onto his shoulder so that she squealed and kicked her legs in the air, "you ruin all the fun."

"You know what?" Dick grinned, and smacked Jason in the forehead. " _You're_ it." he laughed and dodged away from Jason's irritated swipe. Caty squealed in his arms and screamed.

"It doesn't count! It doesn't count unless you tag me you're touching me so it doesn't count!" she shouted and wriggled out of Jason's arms. Her older sister sprinted away too.

"This block is the bounds! My front steps are the base!" she called. More children came, popping out of the woodwork as they hesitantly joined the game, standing around on the street and waiting for Jason to make a move.

"No playing like Nightwing and just sitting on the base," Jason called as he chased a little boy with glasses that kept sliding down his nose. Jason dove dramatically after him as the kid scrambled up on base. Caty waggled her foot above Jason from where she was safe on the step. "Now you're just taunting me." Caty giggled as Jason got back up, shaking her foot. He laughed at her squealing before lunging for some bushes where her sister was hiding. "You're it!" he cried as he lifted her up in the air as she giggled. He set her down, and she grabbed his sleeve.

"No, that's not how it works!" she said angrily, hanging off of his arm. "You were the first zombie and now I'm a zombie too!" she whined.

"Lizzy no, they don't know how to play zombie tag!" Caty squealed.

"All you gotta do is help me tag the other guys and then- and then the last one is Batman! And Batman wins!" she ordered, looking up at Jason.

"You know, I never get to be Batman," Jason fake pouted, sitting down. Lizzy yanked at his arm.

"Come on! We have to go Infect people!"

"Alright, alright," he stood back up, "but once I create an army, I'm going after Nightwing."

"Yes! Get Nightwing!" Lizzy squealed, running off in the opposite direction. Dick laughed.

"What is this game!?" he muttered, running away from her.

"Grr!" Jason fake growled as he trapped a couple kids in a corner. They squealed as he limped toward them, arms outstretched. "Come join my legion of the undead!" he cried as he patted them all on the head. They all wandered off groaning like he had, their arms stretched out in front of them. Dick laughed, jumping away from another boy who'd been zombified by Lizzy.

"No fair," the boy whined. "You're too fast."

"Come my minions!" Jason called once there was a large number of zombie kids. "Attack the tall one!" They formed a big group to swarm Dick.

"No! How can I survive!" Dick cried, looking at Caty, still standing on the steps across the street. "Save yourself, Batman!" he laughed, falling to his knees as a dozen little hands patted his jacket and his head, tagging him to turn him into a zombie.

"We have our winner!" Jason went over to the stairs and fell to his knees, pretending to grovel. "All hail the all powerful Batman." Caty giggled and patted his helmet.

"You are cured good citizen."

"Ha!" Jason jumped up and climbed onto the steps. "Look at that," he taunted Dick.

"Hey, Batman really does have the power to do that," Dick laughed, rolling his eyes behind his mask. "Sorry kiddos, but Red Hood and I have got to make the rounds."

"Boo!" Jason chorused with all the kids. He picked Caty up sideways and carried her under his arm to the other kids and set her down."Now we leave Batman in charge," he said sternly. Dick smiled at him and looked around as they walked away, waving to the kids. A few of them followed to the end of the block before dropping off, and Dick glanced at Jason.

"So I never caught up to you in the mess of Selina getting bit- how did it go with that police officer? First off, did you catch her name?" he joked, smiling.

"Haha," he shoved Dick, "at least _I_ got laid."

"So you _did_ ," he smiled. "Seriously, what was her name?"

"It was Jessica." Jason shrugged. "I don't see it going anywhere. She was into the whole hero thing. Seriously," he looked over at Dick, "any girl in the city would be dying for you to ask them out. It's just something about a mask I guess."

"I told you," Dick laughed. "And you _never_ see it going anywhere. One of your flaws."

"Hey, I'd try. It's just a little hard when they're more into you because you know Batman, rather than because of your incredibly dashing good looks," he smirked.

"Which you keep saying sarcastically like you don't actually have. You're not a bad guy, Jason, you could be in a committed relationship if you wanted to- you're just a little rough around the edges." When Jason opened his mouth to answer, Dick did the same.

"Dying will do that to you," they said in unison, and Dick grinned at him.

"Your catchphrase," he elbowed his brother. "I'm serious. If you don't think Jessica is worth it, then who cares? But you _can_ find someone, you know." There was a beat pause before he smiled. "What about Cassandra?"

"As in our sister? No, that'd be like dating you." He put his hands behind his head as he walked. "And where am I going to find someone around here? Any girl in Gotham is only going to want to date me because I'm on Batman's roster." He shrugged. "They're not in it for me, so I just have my fun and leave them with a story. A great story," he smirked.

"Whatever floats your boat, Red Hood," Dick shrugged. "We probably ought to split up and work our way South," he sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, just try not to get into any more zombie attacks that a girl has to save you from."

"Hey, we're in a paradise," Dick spread his hands. "What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

Harley knocked on the window. After waiting for a few seconds, she rapped again. Poison Ivy slid the window open with an annoyed look.

"I have a front door you know."

"I know." Harley climbed through and closed the window on the fire escape. "But where's the the fun in that?" She skipped forward and sat at the kitchen table.

"So what's up, Doc?" Ivy walked around the table.

"Not much." Harley leaned her chair back on its hind legs. "How's it slummin' down here?"

"Fine, how's it living at the top?" she retorted.

Harley laughed. "Not as cushy as everyone thinks. We're starving just like everybody else. Well, except you," she amended.

"Are you hungry?" Ivy asked, moving into the kitchen. It was a small studio flat, and Harley could see everything, including the abnormal amount of plants in the room. It was small, but everyone in Arkham lived in what they could. At least Ivy kept her place cleaner than most inmates.

"As long as it's not beans," Harley said as she stretched. "I'm sick of beans." Ivy returned to the table carrying a plate. "What is it?"

"Kidney beans."

"I hate you."

"No you don't." She set the plate on the table.

"You're right. I don't." She beamed at Ivy, picking at the food. "So how ya been?"

"Fine."

"Been avoidin' the chaos in the streets?" she said as she waved her arms dramatically before popping a bean into her mouth.

"Causing it." Ivy smirked.

"Yeah, you're not in any real danger when ya can just voodoo magic guys into submission."

"It's not mag-"

"Ah!" Harley covered her ears. "Don't spoil my fun." Ivy rolled her eyes. "So been black magicing any guys recently?"

"Yeah right," Ivy snorted. "With all these _winners_ walking around? We're in Arkham City, so do you want me to date a murderer, rapist, thug, or con artist?"

"You forgot the crazies," Harley reminded her.

"Oh yeah, big step up."

"Hey! It is," Harley defended.

"Yeah," Ivy sneered.

"I'm gettin' really tired of people makin' digs at Mistah J."

"Isn't the point of clowns to be made fun of?"

"Red," Harley warned.

"Okay, fine. But when one of his little tricks gets you killed, I'm going to rip out his spleen."

"He is not gonna-"

"-I thought you didn't want to argue about this?" Ivy interrupted.

"I never said that."

"No," Ivy grinned, "but you did say you didn't want me insulting him which I will be doing a lot of if we argue about this."

"I love him-"

"-but he doesn't love you."

Harley glared at her. "We love each other." She shoved Ivy.

"If you say so." Ivy smirked. "But it'll eat at you."

"You're stupid." Harley threw a bean back onto the plate and stood up. She walked over to the bed and flopped onto it with an angry sigh. "I seriously hate you," she muttered into the pillow. Ivy let out a short laugh. "Don't be such a putz." Ivy ignored her. After a moment, Harley sat up.

"Hey Red." Ivy was walking around the room watering plants. "What cha doin'?" She shot Harley a look before continuing around the room. "You're so boring." Harley fell back onto the bed. After a long pause, she asked, "Do ya think we could _make_ ice cream?" Ivy didn't say anything. "Red?" Silence. "Did ya ever think about how cute the Bats are?"

"What?!" Ivy paused in the middle of watering a flower.

"See. I knew you were listenin'."

"Bats as in… Batman?" Ivy demanded.

"Yeah." Harley rolled onto her side. "I mean, like the Robins. Especially the older ones."

"Are you feeling okay?" Ivy walked over and put a hand on her forehead.

"Stop it." Harley swatted her hand away. "I'm fine. Even if I'm in a committed relationship, I can appreciate when someone is hot."

"Hot as in a fever," Ivy muttered. "Isn't dating the Joker bad enough, now you want to pine after the capes?"

"I'm not _pining_ after 'em," Harley defended, sitting back up. "I'm just sayin' that even though they kick our asses… they may also have nice ones."

Ivy snorted and sat beside her on the bed. "So what, you've been watching them?"

"A little," she admitted. "What?! It's borin' around here. And I… may have also…" she looked at her hands, "been talkin' ta Nightwing," she held up her thumb and forefinger centimeters apart, "just an eensy weensy bit. To gather intel," she added hastily.

"Bullshit you're gathering intel." Ivy smacked her shoulder. "What. Are. You. Doing. Harley." She punctuated each word with another hit as Harley ducked under her hands.

"Stop! Okay. Okay!" She peeked out from under her hands. "I just wanna know what Gotham's like, ya know?" She collapsed over Ivy's legs. "I'm sick of all the zombies, and the starving, and the riots, and the darkness. For all we know they have ice cream and cake over there."

"I'm sure they don't."

"I _know_ they still have zombies, but-"

"-Why did you say that with a tone of certainty?" Ivy studied her carefully.

"What?"

"Why do you ' _know_ ' they still have zombies?"

"Because I've seen one," she said slowly, blushing. "Because Nightwing took me to Midtown."

"Harleen Francis Quinzel!"

"What?! Don't middle name me! We know all the people have been moved ta Downtown, so it's not like it's that big a deal," she defended. "I didn't even get ta see anyone, or all that much," she whined.

"Nightwing took you across the bridge and into Midtown?"

"Yeah. We drove around for a while and went ta the botanical garden. You should see all the plants. You'd love it."

"Let me get this straight. He's been talking to you. _You_. He took you across the bridge," Ivy began ticking off on her fingers, "and into Gotham-"

"-Not _really_ real Gotham."

"And into Gotham," Ivy pressed. "And to a romantic garden."

"No," Harley interjected, sitting up.

"Where you two spent time together."

"No stop."

"Alone."

"Red," she warned.

"It was a date."

"It was not a date," Harley insisted.

"He likes you."

"No he doesn't." She pushed Ivy away, blushing. "He's just a nice guy. He's said repeatedly that he doesn't trust me."

"Uh huh, sure." Ivy laughed. "And you were insisting so hard that you're in a committed relationship."

"I am." She swatted Ivy. "I'm allowed to have friends. Sure, probably not hero friends but that's beside the point. I can't just talk to you and Mistah J for the rest of my life… and Nygma. I need a friend who can bring me new drama every now an' again. Who knows about Gotham. Who I can banter with."

"And by banter you mean flirt," Ivy smirked. "You've been flirting it up with one of the Bats."

Harley stuck her tongue out at her. "Just because you're content to sit behind the wall like a sorry old maid doesn't mean I am. I _am_ gathering intel. I can flirt and be helpful to Mistah J at the same time. Besides, where's the fun in having a friend if ya can't _tease_ 'em?" She grinned.

"You think you're so funny, clown." Ivy shoved her off the bed, and Harley rolled across the floor.

"Gotham still has power," Harley mused as she stretched out. "How has Batman managed ta keep the city alive?" She looked over at Ivy. "Don't you just wanna see it?"

"Why would I want to see it?" Ivy stood up and brushed her legs off.

"Well it's not like ya ever cared about this place. Ya won't help Mistah J, and I'm the only one you grow food for."

"Why would I ever want to help that twisted psycho-"

"-Insults," Harley warned. "Besides, didn't ya wanna rule the world, not a studio apartment?"

"I hate you sometimes," Ivy muttered, kicking her leg as she walked by.

"No ya don't," Harley grinned.

"Get that stupid smile off your face."

"What stupid smile?"

"That one."

"You're just jealous because I gotta see a whole garden of plants that men haven't been tamperin' with," she taunted. Ivy glared at her. "And it didn't even have any beans."

"How about you find your own food then?"

"Seriously, why can't ya grow any watermelons or something?"

"Why can't you ever stop talking?" Ivy muttered.

"What, do you have someone else to talk to? Have your plants started responding. That would be unbe _leaf_ able." She giggled.

"Plant humor," Ivy said dryly, "hilarious."

"I just don't know where they _stem_ from," Harley burst into laughter.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Oh just eat your kidney beans."

"You gotta be _kiddin'_ me." Ivy cracked a smile, and Harley pointed at her. "I saw that!"

"Don't you have someone else you can bother?"

"No." She put her hands under her chin and leaned on her elbows. "Not since Mistah J's busy all the time and Dent got caught. Catwoman disappeared, too."

"Didn't you find a stray cat and name it Selina?" Ivy resumed watering her plants.

"Yeah but Mistah J shot it when it started foamin' at the mouth," she said wistfully. "Oh! what time is it?" Harley glanced out the window. "I gotta go feed Nygma."

"Yes, you _need_ to go feed your pet zombie."

"It's either feed him or be fed to him," Harley said as she got up. "And I prefer ta think of him as a very pungent roommate."

"Whatever." Ivy turned her attention back to her plants as Harley opened the window and stepped back onto the fire escape. "Harls." Harley glanced back at Ivy. "Stay away from Nightwing. I don't want to know what the Joker would do if he thought you were up to something."

"Relax. I know what I'm doin'." She grinned and closed the window.

* * *

It was only a few hours before the sun would rise and Bruce would have to return to patrol, and he never thought that he'd ever want his break to be over, until Selina had woken up.

"Bruce, I'm _hungry_ ," she whined, pulling on his hand. Damian sat in the furthest corner with a sketchbook in his lap, his feet up on a table where Tim was going over the notes he'd taken so far. Titus was curled around the legs of Damian's folding chair. Barbara smirked at Bruce a little from where she stood on the opposite side of the gurney that Selina lay on. "I'm not joking, I'm really hungry. Like, I know we don't have any food, but I just want food." she stared at the blanket over her legs for a moment, and then her head jolted to the side as she suddenly looked at Barbara. "Bring me some of those kit-kats that Dick brought you," she whispered loudly.

"I ate them all, but I do have gummy worms," Barbara offered.

"I _hate_ gummy worms. Gummy worms are robin food." she pouted, and then pulled on Bruce's hand again. "Can I have a tuna sandwich?"

"You just ate," he reminded her. "Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

"I don't _want_ peanut butter," she groaned, dropping her head back like a petulant child. Damian glanced up with a slight smile on his lips.

"The medication did a number on her, didn't it?" he muttered, scooping up his tiny stub of a pencil in his hand.

"At least she stopped crying since we turned the heart rate monitor off," Barbara muttered. "She thought her heart was just really loud."

"Bruce," Selina whispered. When he didn't respond instantly her hand shot up and she yanked his head down closer to her by the ear on his cowl. "Bruce!" she snapped, still holding onto him.

"What is it Selina?" he asked as Tim laughed. She hesitated, pursing her lips like she'd forgotten her train of thought.

"Um… I'm hungry, and I don't want peanut butter," she said matter-of-factly, her words slurring a bit as she blinked slowly.

"What do you want?" he sighed.

"I want tuna," she whined, pulling on his cowl again.

"I can't go get you some if you're holding on to me," he calmly reminded her.

"No you can't leave!" she practically shouted. Tim and Damian looked up in shock. She stared at them. "Um… I mean… I don't want you to go yet," she said, more calmly this time.

"Barbara do you think you could…"

"Yup on it." She left as Bruce gently removed Selina's hand from his cowl and straightened back up. She scrunched up her face and looked up at him, putting fingers by her ears to imitate his cowl.

"Hey," she suddenly grinned, grabbing his cape. "Do you remember when I was a hero and you were a bad guy?"

"No I don't."

"Try again, Selina. That was backwards," Damian said gently, glancing up from his drawing of her. She thought for a while and then shook her head vigorously, adjusting herself on the pillows.

"No, no I mean I was the good guy and you were the villain. It was our something-or-other anniversary and you said that I got to be the hero when we were playing," she insisted, pulling on his cape. Damian snorted. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Way to go Bruce," Tim chuckled.

"Hey," Selina barked, looking at Tim, her eyebrows raised. "I know things about you that I can blackmail you with, you little shit. Don't laugh at your father's happiness."

"Okay," he said slowly. "Protectiveness of Bruce triggers anger." He made a note of it. "Got it."

"You're damn right it does. And you too. If anyone tries to hurt my batbabies, I'll rip their throats out." She nodded once, with so much force she had to sit back and pause to clear the dizziness away. She looked up at Bruce.

"I'm _hungry_ ," she whimpered, reaching up toward him, her hand only making it to his chest.

"Barbara's getting you food. Try to be patient." He grabbed her hand.

"I can't wait I could just eat now," she pressed.

"Selina," Barbara poked her head back into the room, "we don't have tuna."

"Damn it Barbara, why do you have to ruin everything," Selina snapped. Damian laughed out loud.

"Is there anything else you want?" Bruce asked, trying to be patient. Selina broke into a grin.

"How about you, big guy?" she giggled, tugging on his cape.

"Other people in the room," Damian reminded her.

"Whatever, you can watch if you like that shit," she laughed and yanked Bruce's cape so hard that he fell onto the bed with her.

"Selina," Bruce tried to free himself from her, "no." Tim and Barbara covered their mouths as they laughed, glancing at each other. She allowed him to stand again, but caught his face before he could straighten up, her lips near his.

" _You_ don't tell _me_ no," she snapped, biting his lip gently before kissing him. He pushed her back down by the shoulders.

"We are in a room with clear walls," he said sternly.

"Kinky," she laughed, running a hand up his arm.

"Selina," he sighed. "You remember the reason you're in here to begin with."

"Because you can't handle it when I get rough," she sat up quickly, so fast he didn't have time to lean away before she was kissing him again. He blinked in surprise before grabbing her face and pulling her off.

"You're loopy on pain medicine and need to rest."

"Actually," Tim input, "we were going to hold her here until the meds wore off, but she could leave under supervision."

"See, I could go with you," she pressed, pointing at Bruce, her cheeks squished between his thumb and forefinger. Selina grinned and made a meowing noise.

"I have to leave for patrol at sunrise."

"Plenty of time," Barbara scoffed. "Just bring her back before you leave."

Selina mewed again, crossing her eyes and looking down at his hand. "Anytime you wanna let me go, champ." Bruce released her face, stepping away. Her smile turned to an angry frown as she looked at the three feet between them.

"Father, she _could_ benefit from releasing some of her... energy," Damian smirked as he stood, closing his sketchbook. His dog immediately stood with him.

"Why are you all encouraging this?" Bruce demanded. "She's going to be extremely worried when she comes down off of the meds."

"But she's not now," Barbara pointed out. Damian nodded, walking over to Bruce.

"So enjoy it," he muttered, clapping a hand on his father's shoulder. He stood only a few inches shorter, smiling a little. Bruce sighed.

"Come on Selina. Let's get you something to eat." He offered her his hand. She eagerly took it, stumbling out of the bed before standing up straighter.

"I'm ok, I've got it, I can walk," she beamed, walking towards the door and slamming face first into the glass. She stepped back, examined it, and then pulled it open, her hand still tightly held in Bruce's. He rolled his eyes as he let her pull him along.

"Are you still hungry?" She didn't answer him, guiding him out of the labs. "Are you ignoring me now?"

"What?" she glanced at him, her eyes a bit unfocused as she pushed the door open carefully.

"Are you okay?" he asked, cupping her chin to look into her eyes.

"I'm fine," she smiled, and she dropped her head down on her shoulder, looking at him. She rocked back and forth, tilting back dangerously on her heels. "You haven't looked at me like that in hours," she purred, clasping her hands together at her waist as her shoulders scrunched to her ears.

"I'm sorry," he scooped her up into his arms, "it's hard to look at you when you move around too much. I'm dizzy just watching you. Let's get you somewhere you can lay down."

She gasped happily, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her head dropped onto his shoulder, and she nuzzled his cheek with her nose. "Only if you're laying under me," she giggled, and then covered her mouth to hide her smile.

"Selina, you're high," he sighed as he carried her to their room. "I'm not going to take advantage of you." Her lips turned down in a pout.

"Who said that _you're_ the one taking advantage?" she stroked his head under his cowl. "I'm taking full advantage of you, and maybe the high will make it feel even better," she bit his chin gently, kissing his jaw. He grabbed her face so that she'd look at him.

"I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

She stared at him for a moment before laughing out loud. "What's the matter playboy? 'do something I'll regret', jeez." She took his hand away from her face and kissed his fingertips, pulling his glove off. "I'd tell you to grow a pair, but I can see them in that skin tight Bat suit of yours," Selina purred, moving on to kiss his jaw again. "So what's the matter, Batman, can't you use them?"

"You have been sedated for days," he reached their door, "and advised to avoid extreme emotion," he opened it and went in, "now is _really_ not the time," he kicked the door closed behind them.

"I can be as emotionless as you, don't hold yourself so high," she said petulantly, suddenly forcing her weight on his arm holding her legs. When he let go in surprise, she held on by her arms around his neck, swinging her legs around his waist as she faced him. "I think now is exactly the time," she smiled, pulling his cowl away from his face, letting it fall down around his neck. She ran a hand through his hair, pulling her own shirt up with the other. His hand caught hers.

"Selina," he groaned. "We shouldn't."

"Oh I know," she said quietly, shifting her hand in his, holding his wrist and guiding his hand up her torso, pulling the shirt further. "But you said _no._ And that's not allowed. I have to show you that that's not _allowed_." Selina smiled, running her tongue over her lips seductively as she pulled his face within an inch of hers.

"Oh really?" He ran his hand higher up her waist, his other hand resting on her thigh.

She nodded and smiled. "Uh-huh. Now who's taking advantage of who?" her breath whispered against his lips, her hand holding tightly to his shoulder to keep herself upright.

"I'm definitely the one taking advantage," Bruce mumbled. His lips brushed along her neck, barely touching it. Selina pulled away from him and pulled her shirt off, unwrapping her legs from his waist and landing lightly on her feet, taking her arms away from his neck.

"Wrong answer," she mumbled, working the light cotton sweatpants she wore away from her hips. The fabric dropped around her ankles, and she looked up at him expectantly. He ran a hand over his mouth as he looked at her.

"My answer's not going to change," he smirked.

"We'll have to work on that then," she shrugged, pulling her sports bra over her head. Testing him, she put her hands on her hips, slipping her thumbs into her underwear. Her eyes were still unfocused from the drugs and her cheeks were flushed, her heart no doubt pounding in her pale chest. "You know if you don't 'take advantage of me' I'll just have to do it myself," she raised her eyebrows, a smile creeping over her pale lips. "You can watch." Bruce picked her up and dropped her onto the bed before she could begin to sway. He leaned down over her.

"At least we're in agreement about who's in the wrong," he said before he kissed her. Selina giggled happily into his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck again. For a brief shining moment, Bruce could imagine that they were back at the Manor, their home; with none of this pain and grief and suffering. When she was happy, he was. When she laughed, he could forget about it all and imagine they were home. She sighed slowly, running her hands through his hair.

"Bruce," she moaned, grinning before pulling his cape off and yanking the top of his Bat suit off of his chest.

"So you're the hero," his hand slid to the small of her back, lifting her up against him, "and I'm the villain?" he asked with a chuckle. He rested the other hand on her cheek as he kissed her. She nodded and laughed again, her back arching as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her kiss was gentle and loving, but it grew more violent as she grabbed his face, biting at his tongue. She laughed into the kiss. "Careful," he reminded her, gently brushing the hair out of her face before kissing along her collarbone and down her chest.

"I don't _want_ to be careful," she gasped excitedly as her hands tangled in his hair. He kissed down to her belly button before putting his hands on either side of her face and kissing her nose.

"But you have to be."

She stared up at him. "Why do I have to be careful? Are you that afraid of me?" Selina frowned, looking genuinely hurt before she grinned. "No, Batman's not afraid of anybody. Let me give you a reason to be afraid of me," she snapped, and in an instant she had thrown him to the side and pinned him down on the bed, leaning down to kiss his chest. "I'm going to eat you," she teased, her eyes shining mischievously.

"Is this because we didn't have tuna?" he taunted, running a hand up her thigh.

"I never wanted tuna. I definitely had something else in mind," she whispered, and then promptly turned around on him, straddling his abs. Her slender back was to him, pale as a ghost in the dark of their room. She unbuckled his utility belt and tossed it aside, busying herself with pulling his pants down. Bruce moaned, his hand clenching into a fist in the sheets.

"Okay fine you win," he gasped. " _You're_ the one taking advantage."

"Nope, it's too late for that now, complying isn't going to save you," she laughed. "Though I do appreciate the sentiment, and I'll make sure to note it later and use it against you- but right now, looks like you'll just have take what's coming to you," she glanced over her shoulder with a grin before leaning down and pulling his boxer briefs down slowly.

"Somehow, when you were crying over a peanut butter sandwich, I didn't think this was where the night was going." She sat up and thought for a moment.

"Well we could still get the peanut butter," she pondered, and then leaned down again.

"If you want to leave, be my guest," Bruce told her, "but I think I'm good without it."

"I think you're right," she laughed. "Now shut up and let me take advantage of you."


	8. The One Where The Zombies Run

"Oh no you don't," Joker said quietly, his tone deadly, and Harley froze. He was still lying on the bed, the blankets pulled up to his bare shoulder blades. He was face down, one arm hanging over the edge of the mattress, his green hair mussed up as he lifted his head a bit. "Where do you think _you're_ going, Harley?" he asked, not even turning to look at her where she'd tried to quietly slip out of the bed. Harley bit the inside of her cheek. It was the fourth day, Nightwing's patrol day.

"To see Red. She said she was gonna pull some pheromone jazz over a married dude, and I wanted to watch the drama. See who got zombified. Ya know," she lied smoothly and shrugged.

"We have something to do today," he replied calmly.

"We do?" She scrunched up her brow in confusion.

"You and I are visiting Dr. Crane this morning," he clarified. "At Arkham."

"Okay." Harley sat cross legged on the bed. "What about?"

"Need to know basis, Doll. I promise, you'll know when you need to know," he laughed quietly, staring at the wall.

"Ya always say that." Harley tipped on her side, pouting.

"Do you not trust me?" he asked, his voice still eerily low.

"Of course I do, I just wanna know," she whined.

He hesitated for a moment. "Well perhaps I could put a bit more trust in you." The Joker rolled over onto his back and then turned his head to look at her. "Crane is working on a way to- for lack of a better word- control the zombies. With more than a dog-catcher's pole and a bucket of meat," he chuckled. It was strange; here, alone with him, he seemed so… normal. It was how he'd seemed in their therapy sessions, what felt like ages ago. She had been the only one he would speak to. "We're going to go check up on him, and perhaps you can even help."

"Ooo, with what?" Harley rolled onto her stomach, kicking her legs in the air. "As long as ya don't make me hold the dog-catcher's pole, I'm game."

"Of course not. Did you have other plans for the next twenty-four hours? I do hope I'm not interrupting anything," he purred, his voice sickly sweet as he pushed her hair behind her ear, his green eyes genuinely concerned to hide the cunning underneath.

"Nope, I'm all yours," she grinned. She'd starting spending time with Nightwing because Joker and Ivy weren't available. Now the Joker wanted to spend time with her, so it should make sense that she stay. She couldn't stop a twinge of guilt and regret at not going though. It was quickly extinguished when he leaned forward and kissed her. It seemed to end just a bit too soon, and he got out of the bed, getting dressed quickly. A broken mirror hung crooked on the wall and Joker ran his hand through his hair a few times to fix it before buttoning his Arkham Asylum shirt up. He turned and beamed at her.

"Ready?" Harley finished pulling her boots on and grabbed her jacket.

"Yup."

"Terrific," he grinned, and then walked out into the main room. "Oh Nygma! Come on, you dirty little-" the zombie shot out of the corner at him, and the Joker laughed. "There you are you little rat- come on-" he scooped up the pole from its hook on the wall and went after Nygma, dodging his snapping jaws as he wrestled the wire around his neck and released him from the chain. "Time to go for a walk!" Joker sang cheerily. Harley warily stepped out of the bedroom they shared. It was across the living room from the control room, where the Joker would sometimes immerse himself for days, staying in the closet he'd turned into a makeshift room.

"Why do we have to keep him in the house?" Harley walked behind the Joker, keeping away from the zombie.

"What are you talking about, Harley? He's family! I said we all have to stick together. I just wish I could find Penguin, he got loose and ran off again. Oh well, he's either dead or a free bird now." Harley wrinkled her nose. Penguin had been pretty decayed the last time she'd seen him, she didn't want to think about what he'd be like now.

"Okay, Puddin. But he's starting to look a little rotted." They entered the elevator, and Harley pressed the button for the bottom floor.

"Who, Nygma? Sure he's a little rough-" Joker patted his head- "but we'll fix that eventually. Even if we can't stop him dying, maybe we can make him feel better."

"If his skin starts falling off, he's sleeping in the basement though." Harley stood in the corner of the cargo elevator, keeping an eye on Nygma.

"Hmm. Fair enough. Wouldn't want him to get under _your_ skin, eh, Harley?" He chuckled, holding the pole tight as Nygma slammed himself against the elevator door frantically. The smell was overwhelming.

"Why is the cure a bad thing?" she asked, watching the zombie with revulsion.

"It'll make my job more difficult," he sighed, letting Nygma out of the elevator as they reached the ground floor. Nygma practically pulled Joker out the door, sniffing around like a hungry dog. Joker laughed. "Why would I want the Batman to win? I have Uptown under my own control, for the most part- when I take the rest of Gotham, I'll go after him." He grinned down at the sidewalk.

"But-" Harley cut herself off before continuing. "If everyone's a zombie, will it matter if ya have control 'a Gotham?"

"Nope," he said cheerily. "What will matter is that Batman will have lost."

"So you wanna control the zombies instead of curing 'em. Got it. Just _please_ don't turn any 'a my friends into zombies," she begged.

"Friends?" he asked lightly, glancing at her, a gleam in his eyes. "Anyone specific you have in mind? I know that Ivy is immune, so I can't imagine who you're talking about."

"Well Harvey was my friend before he got himself taken," she ticked off on her fingers, "and once upon a time Crane was fun before he turned all grumpy." She wanted to say Nightwing, but she wasn't quite sure. She was still going to keep seeing him in case she could learn something that would help Joker, but part of her wondered if she'd keep going anyway. "And if we ever find out what happened to Catwoman."

"You don't know?" He grinned slyly. "She's the Bat's personal house pet now."

"What?" Harley spun and stared at him. "Cat's in Gotham?"

"Has been since the beginning. She had to choose sides, and she chose wrong," Joker looked at her. As they walked through the streets, the residents cowered and hid in the shadows, disappearing into buildings and hiding from their rulers.

"Ya knew?!" she cried, her eyes hurt. "Ya knew the whole time and didn't tell me?"

"Honestly dear, I thought you smarter than that," he rolled his eyes. "Don't make such a big fuss over the Cat, she's dead by now anyway."

"Don't say that." She pouted, crossing her arms.

"Why not? I killed her."

"What?" Harley gasped, her mouth hanging open as her arms dropped to her sides. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, Nygma pulling him along on his makeshift leash.

"Catwoman- Selina Kyle- is dead. Or at least, she's _un_ dead."

"Why?" Harley demanded, her eyes watering. "Why would ya do that?"

He scrutinized her for a moment, his jaw tightening. The Joker stopped in his tracks and grabbed her arm, pulling her roughly around to look at him.

"She's a defector. A _traitor_ ," he snapped. "Think. Think _very_ hard in that fool brain of yours about how many times the Batman has hurt us. Me. You. Your _friends._ Beaten us within an inch of our lives and dumped us on Arkham's front doorstep. He's the enemy, Doll, and this is war," Joker glared at her, his brows pulled low over his eyes in a menacing stare. "She betrayed us; I was doing her a _favor_ by taking her out."

"She went with the man she loved," Harley argued. "That's not betraying us. I did the same thing for you," she reminded him, furiously wiping her tears away.

"And they've tried to cage you and kill you for it ever since," he hissed. "Come now, Harley, it's not so bad as you think. You've still got Ivy. And Crane, and me."

"Yeah but I woulda liked to see her," she mumbled dejectedly.

"Chin up, Harley," he cupped a hand under her chin and smiled. "Haven't I told you you've got no reasons to frown? Now come on, we're going to be late and Dr. Crane won't like that." Harley jumped when Nygma snapped at her and followed the Joker.

Joker walked on, whistling the tune of a song that Harley remembered, but couldn't recall the name of. He occasionally let Nygma go a bit to chase away passersby who were bold enough to be out on the streets where they walked, and when he reeled his zombie in away from the terrified pedestrian he would laugh happily and continue on. They finally crossed the small bridge connecting Arkham Island to the rest of the city, walking towards the half crumbling structure that was once Arkham Asylum.

"Ya know, this place was always creepy," Harley mused. "An apocalypse has not helped things."

"No it has not," he agreed. "At least there's not a doctor in sight." He glanced over his shoulder at her and did a double take, bursting into laughter. "Sorry, Dr. Quinzel, didn't see you there," he grinned.

"Well I'm trying to blend in," she teased. "Can't ya tell?" She held out her arms. She was wearing her black and red leather jacket over her black and red tanktop and shorts. A good portion of her stomach was exposed and the shorts were too short, but she liked it that way.

He glanced at her and smiled again, leading her with his zombie to the front doors. Their footsteps echoing in the large atrium. The windows in the ceiling had long since broken away, the shards of glass sparkling on the dirty marble floor. The Joker led her down a hall and up a flight of dark stairs. The interior of the building was as eerie as the exterior, dark and damp from the spring rain. Continuing down the bland halls, decorated now with dirt and leaves that had blown in through broken windows during countless storms, Harley and the Joker finally came to a door with CELL BLOCK A stenciled across it, and the Joker shoved his shoulder against it to force it open. Nygma scrambled out onto the balcony where it led.

"Crane is probably in the surveillance room, Harley, would you go say hello? I'm going to let Edward loose to play with the others," he laughed, following the zombie to the stairs and forcing him down, closing the gate behind him.

When Harley entered the Block A surveillance room, Jonathan Crane looked up at her curiously. "And where is he?" he asked after a moment's hesitation. She opened her mouth to respond but the Joker squeezed in the door behind her and closed it tight.

"Releasing Nygma for some exercise," he laughed. "So, doctor, how are we today?" Joker asked, sauntering over to the other man and surreptitiously glancing at the notes taken on old pieces of newspaper in heavy black ink. Crane listlessly put his hands in his pockets and allowed Joker to look them over.

"How ya been Jonathan?" Harley asked, plopping down on a chair. "I never see ya around anymore."

"Only when I'm needed," he agreed with her, glancing up. He looked tired and listless, a dirty lab coat draped over his thin shoulders. It was stained at the cuffs and the hem with dried blood, and there were various instruments in the left pocket. The right had torn clean off, leaving a perfectly white patch on the coat where it'd been.

"So how's it goin' with the walkin' corpses?" Harley put her elbows on a table, leaning forward and grinning.

"How do you think, Harleykins? I'm a psychologist and a chemist, not a biologist or a doctor. I don't _know_ how to-" he cut off promptly as Joker turned around, and Crane was relieved to see that the Joker hadn't heard him, lost in reading Crane's notes.

"Looks to me like you've got near to nil, eh, Scarecrow?" he laughed, but there was a deadly tone to it.

"Other than our most recent… tests… no. Look, it's the same information you had before, okay? What these things are capable of, how they behave, what their habits are- they're animalistic. I don't know what you expect me to do," he said flatly, shoving his hands in the pockets of his lab coat so hard that Harley heard the seam pop on the one still attached. His other hand searched for a place to go before giving up, unable to find the missing pocket.

"Do they mate?" Harley asked. Both men turned to stare at her, and she sat up. "What?! You said they're animalistic."

"Um… no, not that I'm aware of," Crane cocked his head a bit, his light eyes flashing as he shot her a 'thank you' glance and then moved to his desk to look at his notes again. He rubbed his eyes in the darkened room. "Their only motivation is fresh meat. Which again, makes _no_ sense, because they don't need it to survive. They feed on humans because it's their only instinct. And I mean _only_ instinct. Their brains still motivate them, and we know that the brain is the only way to stop them, via decapitation or a head wound-" Crane ran a hand through his already tangled and messy black hair. "But it's nearly impossible to _control_. I've been trying, with various toxins and chemicals- but most of their brains are mush. There's nothing left but that one instinct." He sighed slowly, his eyelids half closed over his eyes in a perpetual state of irritation and exhaustion. The Joker thought about this for a moment, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Ooo, cool." Harley got up and went to the glass window that overlooked the cell block. The zombies were all gathered as close to the wall below them as they could get. "Massive frontal lobe degradacion I bet. I mean, reduced past carnal desires ta pure bloodlust." She sounded fascinated by the thought. "And I guess that explains the creepy attracted ta humans thing. Their animalistic impulses lead them to the largest gatherin' a blood." The Infected were always drawn to the largest group of people. Three people was a large enough group to draw a horde from miles away. "Some subconscious instinct we're not aware of that leads the predator to their prey." She turned around, grinning at Crane. "Gross." She wrinkled her nose. "But how are their brains even still workin'? I mean they're dead. No oxygen to the brain equals-" she put her hands around her neck and stuck her tongue out- "they shouldn't be walkin' much less instincualizing or whatever."

"Yeah, well, I've learned other things," he sighed. "They're not technically dead. Their blood is so thick that it barely moves, but they're still alive."

"Aww!" Harley whined. "So they're not really 'undead', they're just barely alive. That's dull." She pouted. "Some 'zombie' apocalypse."

"We already have all of this information. Can't you come up with anything new, Crane? It's all the same," Joker snapped, glancing between Harley and Scarecrow.

"Sorry Puddin." Harley moved over by him and smiled tentatively. "But he's learned a lot considering he's just got candles, newspapers, and chewing gum."

"That's all I have. There are other things too- I mean, I cut their eyes out and they still follow me around the balcony like they can sense me- they don't need them. And…" Crane sifted through his notes for the third time and Joker finally snapped, grabbing the collar of his lab coat and slamming him against the wall.

"Can't you understand that _that isn't enough_?" he purred, sickly sweet as he grinned. "You're boring me, Crane. What good is a Scarecrow that can't do it's job?"

"Joker, I don't have the supplies-" he was cut off when a silver blade pressed to his stomach. Crane closed his eyes and pressed his lips together.

"Please don't!" Harley pleaded, putting her hand on the Joker's shoulder. "Just give him some more time. He's trying."

"I _know_ he's trying. He just needs a little motivation," he grinned wider, but stepped back from Crane. Scarecrow released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"I don't have the equipment. I haven't gone through the other wing of the Asylum. There may be more I can use there, and I have a couple of new experiments lined up, but I need more _time._ "

The Joker laughed quietly, but said nothing.

"Puddin please," Harley begged, putting her other hand on his arm. "Who else is gonna be able to look for a way to control 'em if you kill him?"

"You seem to be perfectly capable, Dr. Quinzel," he spat as he turned, narrowed eyes fixed on her. Harley recoiled, pulling her hands back.

"I-I just wanna know more about 'em," she stumbled over her words. "Nygma's livin' with us, and I didn't even know if I needed to find him a girlfriend." She smiled hopefully. Joker stared at her for a moment, caught between anger and amusement. He finally settled on the latter, bursting into laughter.

"Oh, Harley," he shook his head, ruffling her hair. "You've got such a penchant for pairing things off I could easily mistake you for Two-Face."

"Well everybody needs somebody." She shrugged and beamed at him.

"I suppose you're right. Crane-" the Scarecrow looked up when he heard his name- "keep up the… mediocre work." Joker narrowed his eyes. "Just remember what's _riding on this_ , eh?" he hissed, and Crane nodded once, his eyes still half closed lazily. Harley opened her mouth to suggest something to him before snapping it closed and glancing at the Joker.

"Is there anythin' else, Mistah J?"

"We're done here," he answered, turning back towards the door and leaving abruptly.

"Quite the charmer," Crane muttered, rubbing his arm as he watched Harley. "Well, run along."

"Good luck, Crane." She smiled and waved before heading to the door. The Joker had already reached the end of the long walkway, his purple coat standing out in the grim industrial surroundings. He waved a hand without turning back.

"Grab Nygma for me, Doll," he said calmly, and then disappeared down the hall back the way they came. Harley glanced down at the crowd of zombies and back to where the Joker had disappeared. She wrinkled her nose before walking over to the grate covering the stairs. She swatted one of the hands that was reaching its fingers up through the grate as she searched for Nygma. He was toward the center of the pile clumped at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well that's just peachy," she muttered to herself. She looked around and saw the dog catcher's pole. She grabbed it, still talking to herself. "And to think, I wanted ta find you a girlfriend." She pointed the pole at Nygma where he was smashed between two decaying old ladies. "Last time I do anything nice for you. You can find your own dinner from now on." She stomped on the fingers poking up through the grate as she mulled over what to do. "You're more trouble than you're worth. Maybe I should leave ya here and let Crane cut you open to see how ya tick," she threatened. The zombies in the front were knocked over as the crowd behind them pushed forward. "You're right," she sighed. "I've gotten used to the way you stink up the place. Fine," she groaned. "But no growling at the guests anymore." She took a deep steadying breath like she was going to dive underwater, paused with her cheeks puffed out as she grinned, and huffed it out as she unlatched the gate.

* * *

The stars were just beginning to come out over Gotham, and Dick walked past the Arkham City entrance for the third time. She hadn't shown up all day. They'd only spoken three times, but for some reason... He missed her. Harley's constant chatting made patrol a little more bearable, and he would have been grateful for it tonight; there had been minimal action and no disturbances all day, and the calm had continued into the night thus far. He hoped he hadn't scared her off when they were last together. He still thought about it, and every time he did he blushed. It was wrong and he knew it, yet... he didn't want to stop. "Ugh, where _is_ she?" Dick muttered irritably, and then jumped when Damian spoke behind him.

"Where is who?" he asked quietly. Dick turned; Damian's eyes were narrowed behind his mask.

"Cassiopeia," Dick said lamely, biting his lip. Damian stared at him for a moment longer before looking up.

"Well first of all, it's a Northern constellation. You're looking South," he pointed up at the stars, and Dick smiled. "We should get out of here. Arkham City doesn't exactly have the most welcoming residents, eh, Nightwing?" he asked, smirking. He didn't wait for Dick as he turned away and began walking East, further into Uptown Gotham.

"God," Steph complained over the comms, "you two losers have been so boring all day. At least with Blackbat or Batwoman I expect them to be dull, but I just cannot _wait_ for sunrise."

"Yeah, that'll be a welcome change of pace," Damian sighed. Dick knew the truth; he had city patrol with his father next, and he was always eager for their time together.

"How are you, Spoiler?" Dick went on conversationally, walking beside Damian. The boy picked a human femur bone up off of the ground and flung it ahead of them, sending his dog chasing after it.

"Bored," she muttered. "You're being Debbie Downer and it's a major buzz kill."

" _I'm_ being Debbie Downer? I'm in a perfectly good mood!" Dick defended himself, laughing. Damian smiled as Titus raced back with the bone, wagging his tail.

"The first conversation I heard in an hour was about a constellation. If that isn't the definition of boring, Damian's dog can have my place on the team." They weren't really supposed to use the comms for chatting; they were they for emergencies and patrol related information. None of them followed that rule too closely, especially Steph.

"We all know Titus would be able to do your job and more, he's twice as good. And he's quiet, too," Damian laughed a little, throwing the bone again. Dick chuckled.

"You cut me deep," Steph said sarcastically. "I hope you and Titus are very happy together. Especially since him licking your face is the closest you're going to come to being kissed."

"After watching you and Red Robin demonstrate, I think I'm alright with that," Damian muttered, waiting for Titus to come back.

"Hey, at least we're not Bruce and Selina," she defended.

"Don't knock Batman and Catwoman, guys," Dick shook his head, laughing. "And leave Red Robin and Spoiler alone. We've gotta be happy with what we've got, right?" he elbowed Damian. "Even if we _are_ single," he laughed. Damian ignored him and whistled shortly, his brow furrowing under his mask as he quickened his pace, hurrying into the darkness where Titus had disappeared. Dick followed him as he broke into a run. Titus barked viciously at the docks, and Damian skidded to a stop, looking down at the water. "What is it?" Dick asked. Titus whined, and Damian knelt in front of him.

"Don't know. What's gotten into you?" he muttered, holding onto the dog's collar. Dick laughed and knelt to pull the bone out of the water.

"Here you go," he smiled, dropping it on the damp surface of the dock. Titus ignored it, breaking into ferocious barks again, this time facing the direction they'd come. Dick and Damian glanced at each other, and Damian promptly let his collar go.

Titus sprinted off into the dark and they followed, staying a few feet behind the dog. He stopped to sniff the ground for a moment before racing down an alley and into the next street, where he began barking as he ran. Dick could see two figures in the dark, running away from the monstrous dog chasing them.

"Damian, try to catch up- I'm going to hit the roofs to head them off-" Dick sprinted forward and fired a grappling hook into the building beside him. He was yanked upward and flipped onto the roof, continuing down the street. Quickly overtaking them, he dropped onto the street ahead, just as Titus caught the snarling zombie by its arm.

"Infected, Robin!" Dick called as he caught up. _Running away!?_

The second Infected surged forward again, knocking Dick down as it ran past. He turned and watched it go, and then covered his head as the other one ran past as well; its arm hung from Titus's jaws. Damian caught the dog's collar again and stared down the street in shock.

"They were… running away from us," Dick said in confusion, standing slowly.

"What?!" Steph cried. "Don't tell me I missed the only cool thing all evening!"

"It's like they were… I don't know," he shook his head slowly. Glancing back over his shoulder, Dick smiled. "But maybe we can find out." He knelt in front of Titus. "Drop it," he commanded, and the dog released the zombie arm onto the street, wagging his tail. Damian scratched his ear as Dick took a few samples. "Alright, we have some samples here, I can-"

"-Nope," Damian cut him off. "You and Steph have got to battle it out. You shirked your duties last time to go flirt with Barbara in the labs, now it's Steph's turn. Let her take the samples back to Tim."

"Haha!" Steph taunted, leaping off the building above them and catching herself on the fire escape. "Suck it."

"Damian you little- I thought you were on my side," Dick muttered, handing over the samples to Steph. Damian flashed him a smile.

"Spoiler, head in. Nightwing- get back to work," he ordered, and then turned and ran off into the night. Dick scoffed.

"Why did that sound _exactly_ like Batman?" He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Say hi to Tim for me."

"I'll tell Babs you wanted to stay out here rather than see her." She laughed before giving him a mock salute and running off. She tucked the samples into her utility belt as she ran and pulled the hood of her Spoiler costume further over her head. It wasn't long before she reached the bridge, waving at the guards she passed, who paid her no attention. Her bike was parked next to Nightwing's, and she kicked it into gear as soon as she was seated. Her break was as soon as her Arkham shift was over, so the sooner she got the samples to the lab, the earlier she could start it. She desperately wanted a hot bath and to wash her uniform.

Steph pulled into the Wayne Tower garage and parked on her designated spot. _Why does Jason get the spot closest to the door?_ she grumbled to herself. She hurried to the elevator, hit the button for the lab floor Tim was on, and waited. The labs were one of the few places that could feel like they were bustling with energy, and when the elevator doors opened, it seemed like people were going everywhere.

Stepping out, Steph tried to weave her way over to Tim's desk. _It's the freaking night shift_ , she thought when someone hurried right across her path, _go to bed you nerds_. She finally reached Tim's desk and set the samples directly on top of what he was working on.

"Batgirl, I said that I'd do the Type B samples in a _minute_ ," he huffed and glanced up, doing a double take. "Oh, Spoiler. Hi. What are you- What are these?" he picked up one of the samples, turning it over in his hand.

"Some flesh eaters ran _away_ from Nightwing and Robin instead of toward. They thought you would like to have these." She perched on the edge of his desk. Tim shook his head slowly.

"Ran _away_? Ok. Great, um…" he looked up at her. "Are you serious?"

"Well I personally didn't see it, but I don't think Nightwing is pranking you." She glared at the top of his head as he examined the samples. _First time you see me in days and you're more interested in zombie blood than your girlfriend. Maybe if I ran in the other direction you'd think_ that _was serious._

"Ok," he shrugged and stretched, walking away from his desk. Steph watched him walk to Barbara and start talking. She threw her hands up in the air. _Why do I even bother?_ She stood up and headed to the door, smiling good naturedly at a scientist who looked at her curiously before blushing when she realized the lady couldn't see it behind her mask, and then was thankful she wouldn't see the blush either.

"Steph wait up!" Tim called. He glanced over his shoulder as he joined her. "Thanks, Batgirl."

"You owe me one," she assured him, and he turned back to Stephanie.

"You were just gonna leave me?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled a little.

"Hey, you seemed busy, and you're the stickler on the no names in costume thing," she reminded him.

"I... What?" He paused. "Oh. Sorry, I just- it's been awhile since I've slept. Barbara had to save me from a near contamination breach today when I nodded off and almost fell in my Petri dish." Steph snorted.

"You always overwork yourself. When was the last time you ate… or slept… or _showered_?"

"Um…" he thought for a minute and his brow furrowed. "Why didn't Dick come in from patrol? Did he send you?" Tim asked curiously, pushing the lab doors open. They closed behind them and locked again.

"Nah, Damian sided with me, so they're both stuck out there till sunrise." She laughed. "I think he wanted to fight me for the right to come in early."

"Yeah he and Barbara have apparently been getting a little friendly again. I mean, I _think_ because Barbara talks while she works and I tune everything out. From the little bits that got through they might be rekindling whatever they had together," he shrugged, looking ahead tiredly as he walked to the elevator and waited for it to come to their floor. When the doors opened they got on and Tim punched the button to the executive floors, where their rooms where.

"That'd be fun, or disastrous, both sound good to me. Now we just have to get Jason and Damian paired off." She leaned back and put her hands behind her head. "What about Jay and Cass?"

"That much anger and frustration and angst can barely stay in the same room for long, much less share a bed," Tim chuckled. The elevator doors slid open again and they went out into the hall.

"I don't know. They kind of have the whole 'too mad at my dad and punching things to notice you' thing going, and I doubt the bed thing. I can't imagine they'd be _bad_." She shrugged.

"I'm not saying bad, just probably… severely wounded." Tim pushed his bedroom door open. He started to close it behind him, but he remembered that he had Steph with him and then left it open for her, pulling his cowl off. His dark hair was stuck down to his head, and he ran his hand through his hair to loosen it as he yawned.

"Okay, no. None of this tiredness crap." Steph waved her hand at him and flicked her hood off. "I had two plans with my extra time while you ignored me and fell asleep in petri dishes: laundry and shower. Now you're here all not ignoring me and tired, but I still smell like three day old sweat. And so do you." She pulled the top of her Spoiler costume off. "Give me the costume, Boy Wonder. I _am_ doing laundry."

"Steph-" Tim's cheeks went red in surprise. "Um, do you want a- I have clean t-shirts," he stuttered, turning to the desk in the room and digging around in the pile of clean clothes beside it. He turned back to her and held out a college tee. His ears had turned pink as well. She'd already taken the bottom of her suit off and was standing there in her underwear as she gathered the pile of clothes up in her arms.

"Costume. Now," she told him, going and dumping her uniform into the washer that was in his bathroom. The plumbing of the tower had been reworked to make sure everyone had showering and washing capabilities. There were some exposed pipes, but everything worked fine. "Seriously," she called from the bathroom, "I _will_ start the wash without you clothes in it!"

"Okay okay _okay,_ " he muttered, tugging his cape and his tunic over his head and then taking his pants off. When Stephanie returned to get them, he stood there in his boxer briefs looking like an abandoned puppy, his cheeks still bright red.

"Thank you." She kissed his burning cheek as she took his clothes and returned to the bathroom. She peeked her head out with a mischievous smile. "Boxers too."

"Stephie!" he cried in protest, nearly whining like a child. He rubbed his arms and pulled on the shirt in his hands, sitting down on the bed as he glared at her across the room. She winked before ducking back into the bathroom. He could hear hear pressing the buttons on the washer and the cycle starting.

"There. One thing down." She walked back into the room and pulled a lock of her hair in front of her nose and sniffed. "But I still stink." Tim had dropped back to lay on the bed, his eyes closed and his arms over his face.

"Bath?" he muttered, smiling a little.

"That depends." She grinned. _Yesyesyesyes_ , she mentally chanted. _A thousand times yes._

"Depends on what?" he took his arms away from his face and smiled at her, pushing himself up on his elbows.

"On if you help." She pushed her hair back over her shoulder as she leaned over him, still grinning. "But I know how tired you are."

"Did you hear me say plural 'baths'?" he laughed. "But I guess if there's an option where you get un-smelly and I get to sleep, then that one's a win." Steph resisted the urge to frown. _Boooooooo_.

"Well there is an option for that." She flipped over him and sprawled out across his bed. "But that involves me going over to my room to take a hot shower, put on pajamas and fuzzy socks, and hibernate for a day." She tilted her head back and smiled at him. "So is that really a win for you?"

Tim pursed his lips. "Do you want the honest answer or no?" he chuckled nervously. Steph leaned her head back forward so he couldn't see her face. After a second, she sat back up.

"Okay, so," she gave him a kiss on the cheek, "get some sleep." She crawled back over him and off the bed. "I'll be back to move the laundry," she reminded him before flashing him one last smile. "I'll try and grab lunch with you or something before I head back out on patrol."

"What? Stephie, I…" he got up quickly and grabbed her hand before she could leave. "It was a joke. I was _going_ to say that you smell fine, and that the honest answer was _no,_ and…" Tim sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down. "I just miss you, Stephanie. Even if we take a bath or just lie here or… I just want to spend time with you."

"Well you need to sleep. You're going to overwork yourself to death." She poked him in the chest. "And if you fall asleep in the lab, I don't know if I can handle a boyfriend with a bacteria colony on his face."

"I know. We have plenty of time to sleep. Just… together," Tim smiled. Their fingers laced together as he rested his forehead against hers.

"For the record, if you hadn't stopped me from walking out the door, you would've been eating lunch alone." She patted his head. "Good boyfriend."

"Oh did I finally do something right for a change?" he laughed.

"You do things right you're just… busy." She shrugged. She was used to it; his work came first.

"Really? Because I think not having time for you is kind of _wrong._ There's nothing I can do to help it, of course, but it is. I mean, Bruce gets to be with Selina, Dick and Barbara have whatever they're doing, and you… shouldn't have to be left out of that. So let me do something right," Tim smiled gently and tipped back, falling onto the bed with Stephanie in his arms.

"How long did it take for me to learn your name in our relationship?" She laughed. "I can be patient." She kissed his nose.

"And I thank God for your patience every day," he laughed and their lips met. He kissed her slowly before pulling back a bit. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he chuckled.

"Smell like three day old sweat," she assured him before grabbing his face and kissing him. Tim's exclamation of surprise was muffled by her lips against his, and he kissed her back, taking a deep breath.

"You smell fine," he muttered against her lips, kissing her again.

"You're obligated to say that, so I'll keep doing your laundry," she countered. "I can't trust your word," she mumbled.

Tim laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight as they kissed. He broke away again, smiling. "See I told you. We have the rest of tonight, and tomorrow, and the next night. I won't work if you promise not to," he kissed her cheek gently, still holding her against him.

"But I had so many plans!" she joked. "With my pajamas, and fuzzy socks, and the popcorn I have stashed away."

Tim smiled and pushed some of her hair out of her face. "Well you can still do that, just so long as you don't mind me tagging along. Though I don't think I'll look very good in your pajamas."

"That's okay." She kissed his neck just below his ear. "I'm good in yours," she whispered. Tim smiled, his cheeks turning a bit pink again as he closed his eyes.

"I love you, Stephie," he said quietly. One hand slid into her hair and the other held her close by her waist. She leaned up and smiled.

"I love you too." She gave him a quick kiss. Tim smiled back and kissed her gently. The washing machine beeped in the bathroom, and Stephanie got up to toss their uniforms in the dryer; when she returned to the bed, Tim was half asleep on the pillows. She crawled under the covers and kissed him on the cheek.

"Okay, but in the morning, _bath_."

"Morning…" he repeated her before yawning. It wasn't that he never had time to sleep, it was that he could never relax to do so. With her there, his anxiety seemed to curb for the moment, and he was suddenly exhausted. Tim smiled and kissed her sleepily. Steph rolled her eyes and smiled. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting the slow rhythm of his breathing put her to sleep.


	9. The One Where Flash Visits

Barbara was sitting at her desk pouring over the data from the samples Nightwing, Robin, and Spoiler had gathered in the field. She twirled some hair around her finger as she frowned at it.

"Hey," she glanced up at the scientist standing in front of her desk, "hate to be a bother, I'm TJ by the way, but is Red Robin AWOL today? It's like," he checked his watch, "ten, and he's always early or never leaves- I can't tell. I just wanted to know if he ran the type B samples."

"He didn't. _I_ did." She smiled, rummaging around on her desk and then handing him the results sheets. "And nice to meet you, TJ."

"You too Batgirl." He glanced down at the sheet, nodded once, and started to leave. "Oh," he turned back, "do you know what happened to the type O samples?" He winced. Barbara thought for a moment, before standing up and walking across to Tim's desk.

"I _think_ he had them," she said, more to herself than to him as she bent over to rummage through the drawers of the desk.

"Okay good," he sighed as he followed her over. "Because I thought _I_ lost them."

"Nah, Red Robin is more of the 'I need this so I'm gonna borrow it' kind of guy. He probably just took them off of your desk." She let out a cry as she found them, holding them out triumphantly to TJ. "There you go, no harm done."

"Yes! Thank you." He smiled at her. "Now I'm going to go run these tests _all_ over again because someone fell asleep in the petri dish."

"Right. Sorry about that, he's trying his best," Barbara smiled.

"Oh no judgement. I broke the centrifuge the first time I ever used it, so you can blame me for having to find a new one in the first week." He shrugged goodnaturedly. Barbara giggled and covered her mouth, smiling.

"So that's who that was! You know the Flash had to sprint around half the country trying to find one," she laughed.

"It was not my fault," he defended. "My coffee knocked itself over."

Barbara giggled again and a couple of the other scientists glanced at them. She winced. "Was that too loud? I feel like that was too loud," she smiled a little.

"No it was fine. Everyone here just has sticks up their butts." A scientist paused as he walked past. "You heard me Johnson." Barbara had to smother her laughter this time. He was so sweet, and she couldn't help but note, so cute as well.

"Well, regardless. We should probably get back to work," she sighed, still smiling broadly.

"Yeah you should," Barry Allen agreed just as the alert that he'd keyed in his code to get into the labs popped up on both Barbara's and Tim's computers. He smiled at Batgirl. "How's it going short stuff?"

"'Short stuff?' You wound me, Flash. I'm wounded," she laughed and hugged him. "It's going good. Did you bring Impulse with you? Did you get something to eat yet?"

"I got here like two seconds ago. Of course I got something to eat." He smiled at her. "Impulse stayed behind this time. Where's Red Robin and the big guy?"

"Red Robin's on break and Bats should be coming in soon. Care to sit?" Barbara asked, walking back to her desk. She offered him her chair as she sat on her desk, meticulously organized and neat.

"Nah I'm good." In an instant Barry was standing beside her. "Anything new?" TJ jumped when he suddenly spoke from behind him. "And who are you?"

"I'm um… TJ. You're the Flash," he said slowly, breaking into a grin. Barbara smothered her giggle with her hand over her lips again.

"He's a scientist here," she clarified. "Though I think _you_ can deduce from the uniform, even if TJ couldn't." True, Barry was wearing a black Star Labs sweatshirt over his bright scarlet uniform, but he was still in uniform nonetheless.

"Hey wait." Barry was standing in front of TJ in an instant who flinched back. "I know you. You're the one with the coffee."

"It was one time!" TJ cried. "And I just wanted coffee before all the creamer expired."

"You're one to talk, Flash," Batman said as he walked into the lab. "I once watched you sprint across a room and break four pieces of high-tech stealth equipment in less than a second. Cool your jets for a bit," he smiled a little. It had been a while since they'd seen Barry here in Gotham, and his presence was a change that lightened everyone's mood.

"Batman!" Barry had hugged him and moved out of arm's reach before he could react. "Long time no see."

"Right," Batman smirked, his cape falling over his shoulders. They stood in silence for a moment before he looked at Batgirl expectantly.

"Oh no, go on, you two have your moment before I interrupt," she grinned.

"Shut up." Barry flicked the ear of her cowl. "So what's the Gotham 4-1-1?"

"A lot, actually," she sat down in her chair, crossing her hands over her lap. "I have the extensive notes and recent test results on a flash drive for you, but there are two major points, the first of which is that a full-body blood transfusion _works_ , and there are some side effects."

"What? Really?" He was standing next to her.

"Damn it," she jumped, and then smiled up at him. "Can you not sit still for more than thirty seconds? Yeah, it works. Catwoman got bit. She's all right, but she has some brain damage side effects. Extreme emotions trigger violence, and she's kinda got a taste for her meat uncooked now. Kinda the same problems you were having, in your initial months after you were bit-" Barbara pulled the drawer of her desk open and took out the flash drive- "so if you guys at Star Labs figured out how to curb that, we'd like to know," she smiled a little.

"Sweet." He had it in his hand before she could move. "I have some info for you." He plugged a flash drive into her computer and was moving the mouse around before she could move her chair out of his way. "Okay open. Most recent file. Charts." He clicked through documents. "Here we go, dated this morning. Basically-" He froze. "Give me a moment." He put his hands on his head and began pacing. "Zombie brain."

"Take your time," Barbara reassured him, smiling.

He waved at the screen. "I don't know. Look at that for a second." He continued pacing as the scientists watched him. "Yes, staring will help the situation." They immediately looked busy. Barry'd been like this from the early stages of the outbreak. He was bitten saving one of the Green Lanterns, only his faster healing rate kept him from turning completely. The longer he went without connecting with the Speed Force, the worse it got. "Okay." He was back at the computer. "I now remember what the charts mean."

"Then go on," Barbara laughed. She liked when Barry was around.

"We figured out the whole 'people spontaneously turning into zombies' thing." He grinned. "Well, for the most part."

"Oh! Okay," Barbara sat forward and pointed at the chart. "So this is…?"

"Chart of the spontaneous changes in Central City," Barry brushed it off. "Okay no, the cool stuff." He scrolled rapidly through the document. "We've been running autopsies on known cases of random Infection because for some odd reason you people here have this weird thing about treading lightly around the fact that these were once people and we're kinda… I am not helping my case of people not hating me by talking like this. Anyway, look." He ran past a series of reports. "Cancer, heart attack, brain aneurysm, blood clot, pill overdose- so suicide but don't tell his family. So basically," he straightened up, "just like if you fatally wound someone- excluding head shot or decapitation- and they turn into a zombie, only we didn't know they were dying and/or about to die. The system is too busy fighting or dying to fight off the Infection, and it takes over. Essentially saving the host in its own twisted undead way." He beamed. "Pretty good right?"

"What?" TJ asked.

"The spontaneous Infections were the result of the people dying," Barry stated simply, staring at him.

Barbara frowned at the computer screen. "I don't know if I'd say 'good', but it is very interesting," she commented. TJ cleared his throat and stepped back a little as Barry turned away from him.

"But wait, there's more." He started searching through documents. "We know the common way to to turn is to be bitten. Zombie bodily fluid is put into our system via saliva, blah, blah, blah, avoid their blood, all that nonsense. But then there's the fact that we're all neutral carriers. That means when our system is too busy fighting off another disease or it's just dying, we turn. _But_ look at the neutral carrier thing a little closer. And," he brought up a new diagram, "here. We made a few assumptions, but we think they're pretty sound." He gave them barely a second to look at the screen. "Okay, we think everyone has different levels of resistance against the Infection. I won't say levels of immunity because no human is immune except for a few rare exceptions. I keep forgetting what all these charts mean right now, so we'll do live action. So if Batgirl, Batman, me, and…" he glanced around and saw TJ standing nearby and listening, "him were all exposed to the Infection in its neutral state. So when it first got here before we turned into walking meatsacks, so forget about the Infected, they're actively and fully Infected so we're just talking about the Infection as a… harmless little contagion. Ignore the Infected because obviously they'll Infect you no matter what. But in the beginning when we were passing this around without knowing it- bodily fluid contact still - one of us would zombify immediately when we got it. The other three are carriers."

"What's your point Flash?" Batman asked.

"Okay everyone's body is different at perceiving the level of threat. Let's say you were the one immediately Infected," he pointed at Batman, "you have no resistance against the Infection. None. You're like the Native Americans when the white settlers brought smallpox. You stood no chance, but the rest of us," he gestured between him, Barbara, and TJ, "all had the capability for our body to recognize the Infection as a threat, but not fight it off. So it's just in our blood now. However, let's say TJ and Batgirl exchange bodily fluids- blood, saliva, or otherwise," he winked at Batgirl, "and TJ becomes a zombie. Rawr, you're a zombie." He pushed TJ over by Batman. "Why did he turn and not Bar-Batgirl?" Flash asked. "Think about it. They both theoretically exchange bodily fluids- unless he's just splashing his blood on her and her skin is really dry and absorbed it, but she looks like she moisturizes- so why did just _him_ change?"

"Because her resistance against the reintroduction of the Infection was stronger," Batman muttered, running a hand across the bottom of his mouth.

"We've only run a few basic tests, but we've seen the difference in two different neutral carrier blood samples being able to fight off the introduction of a different neutral carrier blood sample."

"So if no one has immunity like you said," TJ spoke up, "then no matter how… resistant someone's blood is, they could turn at new contact at any time?"

"Yes!" Flash cried. "Exactly."

"That's not a good thing," Batgirl reminded him.

"Isn't it?" Flash asked. "Isn't years and years of natural selection what made the white settlers so much better at fighting smallpox than the Native Americans? The people who didn't die from it lived to have kids who went on to have kids who lived even longer and on and on to gain better immunity. So in theory, shouldn't we be able to find the people with the highest resistance we can and… fake natural selection?"

"So what? You want to synthesize blood?" TJ asked. "Do test tube embryos? Force breeding? What? We don't have years for humans to _naturally_ become immune to the Infection."

"You're right," Batman agreed. "But this is more than we knew before. Get samples and start running tests and sequencing genomes. Let's see if we can find out more about the higher resistance." TJ nodded and walked away.

Leaning back in her chair, Barbara sighed. "That _is_ good. Better than what I had, that's mostly concerning Gotham-" she looked up at Batman- "A couple of Infected ran _away_ from Nightwing and Robin last night, and they sent in some samples for me to test."

"Did you run the samples?" he asked, staring down the bridge of his nose at her.

"Yes. There were huge amounts of Fear Toxin in them," she answered. "Crane's gassing the Infected over there."

"Whoa, cool," Barry said. Bruce glared at him. "Sorry, but we haven't heard of something fundamentally changing them before. It is cool."

"Could you tell if the Fear Toxin was administered pre-Infection?" Bruce asked.

" _Post-_ Infection," Barbara smiled. "Apparently their 'basic instinct' to kill and feed isn't the only one they have."

"Fear," Barry chuckled. "Hell I'd be afraid if Nightwing and Robin were coming after me."

"Which means we can- _hopefully_ \- reverse some of the brain damage. If other parts of the brain can be unlocked like Scarecrow has with the fear toxins, 'reawakening' the fear center of the brain, that _could_ mean that the neurons might not be dead, just dormant." Barbara rubbed her legs and thought for a moment. "I think there's a lot of work to do with it, but this could be a step in the right direction."

"Hey, sometimes that's all you can hope for, right?" Barry joked. Bruce thought over the news.

"Flash, how long are you planning on staying?"

"Long enough for me to catch up on all the research. It's not like I came to Gotham to go sight seeing." He knew that technically speaking, he shouldn't be there at all. Heroes didn't stray out of their cities anymore because they weren't welcome in anyone else's. It was a Justice League member who had first contracted the Infection off planet. Many of the less human members were immune, and the League members were the first neutral carriers to spread the disease worldwide. The people didn't remember the casualties the League itself suffered, they only remembered them as the cause. The Batfamily members were accepted by the people of Gotham, but if they knew a League member was in the city, they might riot. The scientists had learned to accept the Flash's appearances because it was the only way they could keep in contact with the lab in Central City.

"Well then let's get caught up." Barbara tossed some samples to Barry. "You want to do the honors of the chemical analysis on the Fear Toxin?"

"It would be my pleasure." Barry mock bowed before grinning and disappearing further into the lab.

* * *

Batman was still in the lab with Flash, and Nightwing was on supply runs, which left Red Hood in charge of city patrol. He yawned as he watched people file into the old City Hall to get their food rations. Damian had wanted to go in with his father, but with Steph refusing to come off of her break and Nightwing out of the city in a scouting party, Bruce had made him stay behind, and he was pouting quietly over the comms. Jason knew he wasn't completely trusted in a leadership role. He didn't really mind. With everything else going on, there wasn't any point in being mad at Bruce for his strict orders and trust issues.

Jason absentmindedly scratched at the cheek of his mask as he wandered back over to his bike. People glanced at him as he walked by. He could always see them hesitate when trying to decide on how they should react to him. Treat him like a friend like Nightwing or like an overlord like Batman? Fear him for who he'd been or thank him for what he was doing now? Most tended to decide on a quick smile before continuing on with whatever they were doing. He guessed the mask unnerved them, and even if he smiled back, they couldn't tell. Others wanted to stop and talk to him; sometimes he'd stop to listen. The people who actually wanted his attention either had a problem they wanted fixed, wanted to talk about their appreciation for Batman, or wanted to know if he had plans for his day off.

He started his motorcycle, and everyone looked around at the unfamiliar noise. He made a quick note of the officers helping with the rations and gave a short wave to the one checking off the entries before driving off. He started making lazy passes through the neighborhoods. With a bored sigh, he activated his comm.

"You have anything interesting?" he asked Damian.

"An old lady was telling me that she ran out of bunion cream," he muttered.

"Ouch, I am so sorry." Jason winced empathetically.

"That's alright. If we weren't spread so damn thin, I would be pissed, but we have Spoiler on break, Catwoman still resting, Nightwing on Supply, Batman in the tower… We barely have enough people for one on each shift," he kicked a rock as he walked along the edge of a building. Titus strolled on the sidewalk below, every once in a while glancing up at Damian to make sure he was still there.

"I'm a little offended that you don't think I can handle this, but then again, _I_ don't think I can handle this."

"Don't worry, I'll bail you out with Father when you screw up," Damian smirked.

"I always knew you were good for something," Jason muttered drily.

"Hello," someone spoke up over the comms, "is Batman there?"

"This is Red Hood. What do you need?"

"No one from the Uptown bridge is responding to their comms."

"Thank you. Robin, contact Batman. I'll go see what's up." Jason turned his bike toward Uptown. "Hopefully it's just a technical problem."

"A technical problem is still technically a problem," Damian answered, and Jason could hear the smile in his voice.

"You're a problem," Jason muttered. "And I told you to comm Batman. You know I'm going to get my ass chewed if he doesn't hear _every_ little thing that goes wrong."

"Ugh, fine," Damian sighed, pressing his comm to switch the feed. "Batman, Todd is investigating a potential problem on the bridge into Arkham. None of the attendants are answering their comms."

"Keep me updated," Bruce ordered.

"Tell Flash I say hi!" Jason joked, but Damian had already switched the feed.

"Why would Flash want to hear from you?" he muttered.

"Well I don't want to hear from you," Jason retorted, "but you don't hear me complaining."

"Yeah yeah, just do your job," Damian scoffed, and then he dove off of the roof, landing gracefully next to Titus.

"Whatever kid." Jason rolled his eyes behind his mask as he drove. He could see the bridge up ahead. "I… don't think it's a technical problem." He parked his bike by the the bridge and vaulted off. He rushed over to the the first body lying on the ground and crouched beside him. Lifting the man up by his shoulders, he saw the bemused and dazed expression. The man sighed longingly when he dropped him back down. Jason switched his comm feed.

"Right, we need a full shift change at the Arkham bridge ASAP," he relayed to Damian and Bruce. "And medical transport for the current guards. They're not hurt they're just… bewitched." He took stock of the scene. "Did you know every single one of our bridge guards is a guy?" he asked in a joking tone. "That seems like a serious lapse in judgement."

"Ivy," Bruce said darkly. "I'll relay the orders to Gordon, Red Hood, don't do anything until I get there."

"Okay, let me repeat that for you," Jason said. "Every man on this bridge is currently dreaming about flowers. And you want to send more men after her?"

"Jason," Bruce said warningly. "Orders."

"I know," Jason groaned. "But do you want to take the time to bringing in _more_ of the thing she's the best at manipulating? You're all going to look _really_ ridiculous charging her with a bunch of gas masks. I'm not trying to disobey, but what am I wearing? Come on Batsy, think it through. What's on my face?"

Bruce hesitated for a long time, before he sighed quietly. "I'm going to _trust_ you, Jason, despite my better judgement. I'm giving you a bit of room. _Don't_ screw this up."

"Got it. I'll be careful." Jason grappled up to the nearest building, running along rooftops as he searched the streets below. After a few minutes of looking, he spotted her walking down the main street to Downtown. "Found her," he muttered into the comm. He flipped forward. His grappling hook caught in the side of a building as he landed just in front of her. "What are you doing here, Prickle Bush?" Ivy had recoiled when he dropped down in her path, but now she glared at him.

"Whatever I want," she snapped. She attempted to walk around him but he blocked her path.

"And what is that?" He crossed his arms.

"To take a walk," she said sweetly.

"Then why don't you turn around and walk back the way you came," he suggested. Ivy frowned at his emotionless mask, annoyed by him.

"And why don't you run on home to granny before the big bad wolf gets you?"

"Cute."

Ivy seethed when she realized exactly why he was the one who had stopped her. His red hood had a rebreather. Even though his mask hadn't changed, it suddenly looked smug, and she wanted to rip it off his face.

"So what are you going to do, _hero_?" she taunted. "Haul me back to Arkham?" She gave him a slow smirk. "How long do you think it will take me to cross the bridge again?"

"We could do an all girl guard," he argued.

"Not a problem." Ivy shrugged. "Just takes a little longer, and the ones not affected," she looked at him meaningfully, "get hurt." She rolled her eyes when he turned away from her, his hand at the comm in his helmet.

"Orders?" Jason asked shortly. Ivy cocked her hip as she waited.

"We can't have her wandering the city," Bruce growled.

"And what do you propose we do?" Damian asked. "Detain her? We already have Dent, we don't need another Arkham patient."

"We just need to get her back into Uptown," Bruce snapped.

"How?" Damian countered. Jason resisted the urge to tap his foot as he let them argue it out. He glanced over at Ivy who was boredly examining her nails. "We can't keep her from crossing the bridge, and resisting will only get people hurt. Unless you're suggesting we just kill her, we don't have a choice, Father." Jason could practically see Bruce pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just have Red Hood keep an eye on her," Damian suggested.

"What?" Jason cried. Ivy glanced at him.

"She can't control you with your Red Hood mask on, and you can take her out if she causes trouble," Damian reasoned.

"I don't like it," Jason muttered.

"Me either," Bruce agreed.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Damian pressed. Sometimes Jason forgot that the kid was a master strategist smart enough to rival his father. He ground his teeth together, hoping Bruce would come up with a better solution. He didn't want to spend his time tailing a toxic flower.

"Are you done?" Ivy asked, crossing her arms. Jason held up one finger.

"Just let her do whatever she came here for, and let her leave. No confrontation necessary," Damian reasoned.

"Fine," Bruce snapped. "Red Hood, do _not_ let her out of your sight, and keep us updated."

"Got it," Jason growled, flicking his comm off in irritation. "Well come on, Palm Tree. Let's go."

"Excuse me?" Ivy dropped her arms.

"You wanted the Gotham experience, you got it." Jason held his arms out. "Bat and all."

"I do not need to be followed like a child," she snapped.

"I beg to differ." She could almost hear the smirk. "Now I don't exactly want to spend my time with a weed, but it's either Gotham under supervision, or _go home_." Ivy seethed, her hands clenching. She stormed forward.

"I could strangle you in vines and leave you here," she fumed as he trailed after her.

"Yeah but you don't exactly blend in in that outfit." She shot him an angry look, flicking her long red hair over her shoulder. Her black and green, skintight suit made of leaves didn't hide her identity well, and the bright green lips and eyes were a dead give away. "And the next person to find you won't be as courteous, Pussy Willow."

"Call me a ridiculous plant name again, and I will rip your throat out," she hissed.

"Calm down, Pansy," he yawned, and she shot him a withering look. "So where are we going?" He shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed her. She didn't say anything. "Hello?" Silence. "Anyone there?" Nothing. "Do you even know?"

"Will you stop talking for like two seconds," she cried, whirling on him. "No I don't know where I'm going, okay? I just needed to get out of that _stink hole_ for a while and wanted to see the city that I once lived in. Is it too much to ask to do that without a chattering monkey breathing down my neck every few seconds?" she demanded.

"I wasn't breathing down your neck," Jason mumbled. Ivy groaned in frustration and spun back around, marching forward. He was silent for a little bit. "The Downtown shopping center is still standing. Isn't shopping something normal girls like to do?" Ivy looked back at him, smirking.

"Do I look like a normal girl to you?"

"Fine," he put his hands up, "it was just a suggestion. Go ahead and mindlessly wander the city. Helps me patrol." She ignored him, continuing forward toward Downtown. Eventually he cleared his throat, and she looked back at him curiously. He was standing at the street corner she'd just passed. "Bridges are out everywhere but the Narrows. But by all means, continue that way." Ivy's face was set in anger as she stormed back toward him. She brushed him as she passed and had to refrain from attempting to poison him.

"You're the most annoying person I've ever met," she told him.

"I get that a lot." He shrugged. "But at least I'm not a plant." Jason followed a step behind her.

"Better a plant than a man."

"See, I knew that was coming. Am I going to get in trouble next for wearing cotton polyester blends?"

"I'm too distracted by how terrible your clothes are to care what they're made of."

"At least they're not _leaves_ ," he retorted.

"And at least I'm not a moron," she sighed. Once they passed through the Narrows, they started to see people. A group of women eyed them suspiciously on their way for a lunch break. Jason gave them a quick wave. Ivy stared around her, surprised at how _clean_ it was. The people of Gotham still took care of their city while corpses rotted in the streets of Arkham. All of the abandoned cars had been driven or pushed out of the streets and into parking lots to make the place less cluttered. Even the people were cleaner, and they actually talked to each other instead of keeping a hand on a knife in their belt as they shuffled by. An elderly man stopped Jason as he was walking.

"Poison Ivy is in Gotham," he whispered to him. Jason patted the man on the arm.

"I'll get right on that." He continued to follow Ivy as she wandered around looking at everything. Everyone was staring at Ivy, moving to the other side of the street when she passed.

"Batman," Jason pressed his comm, and Ivy glanced back at him, "we may want to be careful with how people react to the whole walking evil tree in their midst." Ivy ignored him as he listened to whatever the reply was. "Okay, are you going to actually think of somewhere you want to go, or are you just going to stand here gawking and making everyone uncomfortable?" he asked her. Ivy glared at him before her smile turned sweet.

"Do I make _you_ uncomfortable?" she breathed, moving closer to him. She arched her body toward him, putting her hand on his chest as she looked up at him through her lashes.

"Very," he muttered, carefully taking her hand off his chest and stepping away from her. Poisoning him wasn't at the top of the list running through his mind of what she could do with that hand. "But that could just be the whole leather jacket in the sunlight thing."

"Then why don't you take it off?" she teased, brushing her hair out of her face as she smiled coyly.

 _This was a very bad idea_ , he thought. Jason took a deep breath and shook his head imperceptibly as he closed his eyes. Poison Ivy had undeniably honed her craft, but he wouldn't be that easy to sway. Two could play this game.

"Nah that's good. But let me know if you need to find a shadier spot when you're done with your photosynthesis." He cocked his head lazily to the side. "Or is that an all day thing?"

"I'm starting to think you like the sound of your own voice," she grumbled, irritably crossing her arms as she stepped away from him and started walking again.

"Well it is pretty nice." He rubbed a hand across his jaw as he followed beside her. Ivy recognized the action as something men with stubble or facial hair commonly did and immediately wondered if he had any.

"Yeah it goes along with your giant head," she muttered.

"Which one?" Ivy turned to stare at him incredulously, pausing in the middle of the street. "What? The enchantress doesn't like when someone can out seduce her?" She hadn't failed to seduce or trick any man since college, and here he was toying with her. Her jaw clenched.

"That's not seduction. That's imbecilic." She couldn't tell if this was his attempt at flirting, or if he was really just that annoying.

"I can't understand you when you use such big words," he said sarcastically.

"I think that's because the mask cuts off the oxygen to your brain."

"Nah, just your pheramones." He stretched. "How long has it been since you've been unable to make a man fall madly in love with you and do whatever you want? You're whole seduction bit suffers without it." He knew he was lying. She could probably win over most men from twenty feet away without saying anything. "I bet the fact you can't control me just _eats_ at you doesn't it?"

"It makes me feel better that your mask looks as stupid as your face probably does," she hissed. The fact that he could hide his reactions behind his mask was infuriating her. She just wanted _some_ real reaction from him.

"Coming from a Tree of Chem," he countered.

"You're childish," she snapped.

"I know." Jason shrugged. He smiled at how upset she was getting.

"Annoying."

"Big time."

"The most loathsome man I've ever met."

"Probably."

"And _that_ is saying something," she added.

"Doesn't surprise me," he agreed. She looked up at the sky and groaned. She had never found someone she hated more than the man standing in front of her. And that included Batman.

"I'm ready to go back. _Anything_ to get away from you."

"Finally," Jason sighed, pushing the button on his utility belt to call his bike to him. He wanted to get her out of the city as quickly as possible. "You're going to put me off vegetables for a week."

"I hope you choke to death on a brussel sprout," she spat, and he burst into laughter.

"That is literally the worst insult I have _ever_ heard," he continued to laugh. Ivy stepped back from him. Her hands curling into fists at her side, and she was thankful she couldn't blush. "No seriously, keep insulting me with healthy food. It's adorable." She wanted to hit him, bury him in vines, poison him. Anything to stop feeling so suddenly embarrassed.

"How about I mangle you with them instead?" she snapped.

He chuckled. "You think you're threatening, but that's still hilarious." She wished he was still sarcastic and emotionless. She started walking back toward the Narrows. "Aw," he followed her, "don't walk away. I just didn't know dieting would be dangerous."

"Keep talking and you won't be able to eat anything healthy or otherwise," Ivy snapped.

"Well if you keep _that_ attitude up," he taunted as his bike pulled up in the street, and he pressed the button on his belt again so that it idled beside him, "you can walk back." He climbed on the bike and sat expectantly with his hands resting on the handlebars. Ivy would have rather walked than do what he wanted, but instead she went over.

"Would you rather I have this attitude?" she asked in a low voice as she brushed past him, her hair spilling over her shoulder as she gave him an alluring smile. Jason sat up straighter on the bike and tried not to be aware of the way her her hair faded from deep red to an almost bright orange like a tiger lily, or the way her body curved around him as she sat behind him, or her lips right beside his neck, or they way his mask may filter her pheromones but not the floral way she smelled. _Shit_. She was good.

"Actually, no I wouldn't," Jason said shortly. He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "But I'm sure there are some _great_ guys in Arkham who would _love_ it. Might I suggest a zombie?" She gave him a venomous glare as he turned away and started driving.

"I hate men, but I actually pity the woman that has to put up with you," she told him. Her hands were practically crushing his waist as she held onto him, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get her back in Arkham, and not because she was a threat to the city.

"You know, everyone says that to me, Poison Oak. I wonder why."

"What did I say about the name thing?" Ivy hissed. She hoped she was leaving a bruise with how tight she was holding his waist but doubted it. He felt really well built, and it annoyed her that she'd noticed.

"That it's charming and adorable?" he asked.

"That I can strangle you without lifting a finger."

"You know, I may remember something about that." Jason sped up when he made it to the main road. "But I could have been distracted by the idea of carrots attacking me."

"And I could easily kill you with them, you ignorant pig."

"Well don't spare my feelings," he muttered.

"I won't."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that we won't see each other again," he said in relief when the bridge came into view.

"The thought of that makes you too happy," she mused. "I have the strangest desire to make you miserable."

"Don't you dare," he threatened.

"I think I'll come back." She smiled when he groaned in frustration. "I hope that's not inconvenient?"

"Are you Satan's personal helper?" Jason asked as he crossed the bridge.

"Only to those who are _really_ lucky," she mumbled by his ear as he slowed the bike to a stop. His hands tightened around the handlebars. "You just provide a chance to be amused by your pain." She got off the bike.

"Well I like you too, birch."

"Thanks for the tour, idiot," she said as she turned away.

"Feel free _not_ to visit any time." Ivy waved over her shoulder as she sauntered away. Jason watched until she was out of sight. He activated his comm.

"Damian, I am going to fucking _kill_ you."


	10. The One Where They Do It

"Red Robin, reporting in Labs."

"Robin, reporting to Arkham patrol."

"Batwoman, out and about in Gotham."

"Spoiler! Trying to catch a frog on Supply run."

"Blackbat. Break time, guys. See you tomorrow."

"Batgirl, going to take a break!"

"Red Hood, also following a small frog. Spoiler it's over here-"

"Catwoman, stuck in the damn bedroom, _again_ -"

"-Selina, please- Batman, City patrol."

"Nightwing, running late and heading out to Arkham- sorry guys-" Dick nearly fell on his face as he dragged his uniform out of the dryer. There was a collective groaning over the comms. "I know I know, I'm sorry, I got back early and went to take a nap- I went a little overboard-" he cried out angrily when he put the torso of his Nightwing suit on backwards.

"Just get there as soon as you can," Batman said calmly, and the comms went silent as everyone switched them off. Dick's eyes burned behind his mask. The few hours of sleep had done worse than if he hadn't slept at all, now he could barely think straight. Still, the rest was good for his body, and he knew that he'd been in dire need of a shower.

"Well done, Boy Wonder," Barbara leaned against the door to his room, and he looked up as he pulled his pants on.

"Jesus, Babs, give a guy a little warning, would ya?" he cried, buckling his belt and then hefting his utility belt on. He clipped the holster around his leg and grabbed his jacket, yanking it over his arms as he walked towards the door.

"Sorry," she laughed. She'd taken her cowl off, and she looked tired.

"Get some rest," he kissed her head as he passed her, and she turned in the door.

"Hey Dick?" she asked, following him down the hall. He stopped by the elevator and nodded at her to continue. "I was just thinking about you. I mean, not like, _about you;_ it's what you said about _us._ "

"Yeah, no worries, right?" he ran a hand through his hair, and immediately noticed that it wasn't pulled back.

"Well that's what I was hoping to talk to you about for a second," she smiled a little.

"Yeah, it's fine." Dick replied distractedly, digging around in the pockets of his utility belt. "Don't have a ponytail holder…" he muttered.

"What's fine? Dick, you're not listening, I'm-"

"-we're fine, right? I mean I didn't want to ruin our friendship in any way," he glanced at her and then pushed the button to call the elevator.

"No, of course not." She smiled, and then opened her mouth to continue, but he cut her off.

"Yeah, no harm done then. I'm over it," he flashed her a smile, getting on the elevator. She recoiled in shock a bit and then stepped on before the doors closed. "Babs, you gotta go rest-"

"-what do you mean, you're over it?"

"I mean I'm past it. I figured you and I together again was a long shot, and I've moved on." Dick flicked his hair over his shoulder impatiently, tapping his foot as the elevator dropped.

"You've moved on? What has it been, a week?" she asked incredulously, crossing her arms. "You really _are_ the Boy Wonder," Barbara muttered.

"Look I don't know what the problem is," Dick huffed as the doors slid open in the lobby.

"The problem is you can love me one day and forget it the next," she said quietly, and Dick stopped on his way out of the elevator. He turned and stared at her, the door closing behind him.

"Barbara, that's-"

"-who have you moved on with?"

"What?" he was again floored by her sudden shift in conversation.

"Who is the girl? Unless you've just decided to move on by yourself, which _you_ don't do."

"There isn't a girl. I mean I've been talking to someone, but-"

"-just tell me!" Barbara suddenly snapped. Dick recoiled in surprise.

"Harley Quinn. I've been talking to Harley Quinn."

Barbara stared at him, and the weight of the awkward silence could have been measured on a scale. Dick swallowed hard, biting his lip.

"What?" Barbara raised her eyebrows, watching him.

"She talks to me on my patrols sometimes. Its not like-"

"-Harley Quinn!? _You've_ been talking to _Harley Quinn._ "

"Barbara she just wants to know what it's like in Gotham," he defended, blushing. Only now did he realize how stupid that must have sounded. He may as well have said that he was personally waging war on the Joker, which given the context; wasn't too far off.

"Yeah, and I'm just stuck in the labs because I like pretending to be a chemist!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "How _much_ have you been talking to her, Dick!?"

"Why is that any of your business?" he snapped back, hating every word out of his mouth. He closed it, pressing his lips together tight. Barbara shot him a glare.

"You're right. I guess it's not," she shrugged, her cheeks and ears flushed in her anger. Dick groaned.

"Honestly, why do you care so much?" he asked, and the elevator suddenly started down as someone called it to the labs. Barbara crossed her arms over her chest, not looking at him.

"You know what? I don't. Do whatever you want, Dick," she said angrily. "My only concern is the safety of the whole family, but what do I know. I haven't had any confrontation with her before. Just the man she's in love with."

Dick clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath through his nose. "It has _nothing_ to do with what you were saying before we got on the elevator upstairs?" he asked quietly.

"Of course not. I was just going to tell you to take back what you said. I'm not interested."

Dick let out the breath he'd been holding, scoffing quietly. "Wow. I'd be lying if I said that _that_ one didn't hurt," he breathed, and Barbara promptly turned her face to the corner of the elevator when the doors slid open and TJ stepped on. He glanced between the two of them and Dick hit the lobby button. The elevator was thick with the tension as it ascended once again to the ground floor, and Dick got off. TJ glanced at Barbara, still standing with her nose in the corner like a chastised child.

"Um… Batgirl? Are you okay?" he asked gently, and Barbara nodded.

"Thanks, TJ, yeah," she responded quietly. She hadn't put her mask back on before getting on the elevator, and standing with her face in the corner to hide her identity only added to the feeling of utter embarrassment she felt. She was almost glad, though, that TJ couldn't see her crying. _Dick you impossible, reckless idiot,_ she thought, biting down on her lip to keep herself silent. _Please don't get yourself killed._

Dick still seethed angrily on his entire ride to Arkham. He couldn't believe that they'd started that fight. He still couldn't tell where it had even _come_ from. He parked his bike by the bridge and nodded at the lady officer standing guard. She waved pleasantly and Dick continued on his way, breaking into a run in hopes of blowing off some steam. As he neared the Arkham wall he quickened his pace a bit.

He knew that talking to Harley was a bad idea. He knew he shouldn't, but he also didn't see any harm in it. She was just curious. _Besides,_ he thought ruefully, slowing to a walk again. _She may not even show again; she didn't last time._

"Just wake up?" Dick skidded to a stop as he ran past an alley and turned to see Harley sitting on a dumpster, one leg tucked beneath her as the other swung back and forth. He broke into a grin, his fight with Barbara almost instantly forgotten. _She said she wasn't interested. So move on._

"Yeah, actually. Overslept. Bat alarm didn't go off," he walked towards her, still smiling. _You're only talking. What harm can it do to the family?_

"Please tell me it's shaped like an _actual_ bat." She grinned as she hopped off the dumpster in front of him.

"No, but I did have a Mr. T shaped one when I was a kid. It was… the only thing that went everywhere… with me…" he trailed off, his brow furrowing behind his mask. "What are you wearing?" he laughed a little nervously, biting his lip.

"What?" She grinned. Her hair was up in it's usual high pigtails but with a few more bangs framing her pale face. She was wearing a heavy bomber jacket with a thick white collar, but the shirt under it was more of a bra made of black and red fabric with black diamonds. She was wearing short, cargo green shorts with a Batman inspired utility belt that was gold, red, and black. There was a thigh high black sock on her left leg and a red one on her right with short white crew socks and red combat boots. "They're clothes. Ain'tcha ever seen clothes before?" She pulled at one of her red gloves as she smirked at him. "I can take them off if they make ya uncomfortable."

"No, no, you don't have to-" Dick stopped and rolled his eyes when he registered what she'd said. "Aren't you a little cold?" he asked, watching her, careful to keep his eyes on her face.

"Just my heart," she laughed. "What about you? Ain't ya burning up?" she asked as she eyed his jacket.

"Not at all. Keeps me protected," he commented lightly as they walked out of the alleyway together. Now that she'd mentioned it, the sunlight was bright, and the jacket was a bit hot.

"Okay, your loss." She grinned as she threw her arms back and tilted her head up, basking in the sunlight. Dick fought the urge to stare at her pale skin, looking away.

"Well it is a _little_ hot," he mused.

"And muggy," she muttered. She put a hand over her eyes as she looked off into the distance. "Yup. Storm clouds," she pointed, grinning back at him. Dick shook his head and laughed as he reluctantly pulled his jacket off, the light sensitive fabric of his Nightwing suit underneath it almost shining in the sun. The black skin-tight material hugged his muscular arms and chest, emphasizing his athletic physique. He held his jacket by the collar and slung it over his shoulder.

"Looks like it's moving pretty fast," he commented, watching the growing clouds in the distance. After a moment he glanced at her. "So where were you last time? I hope I didn't scare you off," he laughed.

"Nah, I was just busy." Harley bit the inside of her cheek. She'd thought she'd be busy, but once she got Nygma wrangled up, she'd gone back to the tower to find the Joker locked away in his office. He'd said they had plans for the day, but he ended up ignoring her. She'd kept trying to get his attention. The one time she'd gotten him to come out of his office, he'd said he'd be right back. By the time she'd realized he'd forgotten, the whipped cream had liquefied and he was back in his office. He had still been working when she went to bed that night, and the next night, and the next night. She'd gone to go see Ivy who told her about her trip into Gotham, but then Harley'd remembered what she said about Nightwing liking her. "Why," she raised an eyebrow as she smirked at him, "did ya miss me?" She didn't know why she was flirting with him; she just wanted to know if she could get him to flirt back.

"No more than reason," he said quietly, smiling again. She couldn't see his eyes behind his mask, but that smile was dazzling. She beamed right back.

"Oh, jeez Louise," she smacked his chest, "why'd you guys let Red wander 'round your city?"

"It's safer for her to be escorted than locked up in here, believe it or not," Dick laughed, and then glanced at her. "Wait, you two talk?"

"Yeah," she scoffed. "Do you think I just chat with Nygma all day?"

"Riddler made it too, huh?"

"Jinkies no. He's been a zombie for months. And _reeks_." She wrinkled her nose.

"Oh gross," Dick frowned, and then glanced at her. "You seem to keep yourself relatively zombie-stench free, though," he raised an eyebrow. Dick leaned a little closer and sniffed beside her ear, grinning. "Cherries?" he asked slyly, straightening up again and putting his hand in his pocket.

"Hey!" Harley caught his face and pulled him back down as she sniffed him quick. "Ya don't smell like rotting flesh or sweat. That's a change," she laughed.

Dick chuckled and grinned, the sun catching on his dark hair as the wind blew it back over his shoulder. "Nah, took a shower finally. I won't tell you how long it'd been since I'd had one."

"I don't want to know," she agreed with a laugh. A shadow passed over them, and she glanced up at the cloud passing in front of the sun. "Holee cannoli that storm's a bookin' it."

"Yeah, patrol in the rain is no fun." They'd already been walking his route by the docks, and he'd checked the cameras as they passed each one. "But maybe if you were with me it would be a little more bearable."

"Aw, ya flatter me, bird boy." She skipped in excitement for a second. "On one condition," she told him, holding up her finger. Dick raised his eyebrows.

"Alright, shoot," he smiled, running his hand through his hair. They'd reached the docks, and he stopped to look at her.

"I need my dose 'a drama. How's the lady lookin' going?" She nudged him with her elbow. "Huh?" She waggled her eyebrows. "Anyone?"

"Hmm," Dick turned and started walking down the dock again. "I haven't seen anyone so far. One girl has really caught my attention, though."

"Ooo." Harley practically bounced up beside him. _Looks like Red was wrong_ , she thought. She was a little annoyed with herself for taking so much time to get ready this morning. _Was I trying to impress him?_ She put her hands on her hips as she walked backwards in front of him. _I just wanted him to be impressed_ , she admitted to herself. It wasn't about him specifically. It was more about knowing she could, and she tried not to be disappointed. "And do I know this girl?"

"Maybe. I think she was a doctor at Arkham at some point," he shrugged. "I don't know much about her yet."

Harley froze in front of him, cocking her head. "Is it Dr. Sterano? Is she still alive?" Harley had the sudden urge to strangle her. Dick continued to walk forward until he was just in front of her, leaning down so close to her that she could feel his breath on her lips.

"No," he whispered, and she could hear the smile in his voice as he looked her in the eyes, so close that she could see his behind the white lenses of his mask; his lips brushed hers for the barest second before he straightened up to his full height again. "Guess again." Dick walked around her, glancing back over his shoulder with a mischievous grin on his face before he continued on his walk. _Well_ that _answers a couple questions_ , she thought. It took her a second to remember to follow him.

"Okay, now that girl I like," she told him. "But is she _really_ your type?" she asked with a grin. "She seems a little dangerous for ya."

"Well like I said, I've got a jacket to protect me," he quipped, his lips still parted in that half-cocked smile that somehow looked sweet and smug at the same time.

"But you're not wearing it," she reminded him. She smiled broader and slipped her jacket off of her shoulders. "And that's hardly fair is it?" She laid it over her arm, turning to him. "There, now we're even." Harley couldn't help but grin in satisfaction when Dick failed to hide his surreptitious glance as he looked over her exposed skin, and then continued on his way. A cold wind suddenly kicked up behind them, and he glanced over his shoulder. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and he stopped. The entire sky had been consumed by gray.

"Well now I'm _cold_ ," he commented, watching lightning flash between the clouds.

"Oh you poor baby," Harley taunted. "Let me help." She stepped over to him, draped her arms over his shoulders, and pressed her body against his. "Is that better?" she asked. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest. This was new and thrilling; after years spent trying to kill each other, this was more dangerous than any of their past encounters.

Dick thought for a moment, but Harley did note the blush creeping into his cheeks as he smiled. "A little." His arm wrapped around her waist.

In an instant, Dick had caught her face in his other hand and kissed her.

All of this back and forth; she didn't think he'd actually do it. She blinked in surprise and then her lips were moving against his. One of her hands twisted in his hair as she stood up on tiptoe.

"No, no wait, stop." Harley pulled her face back and looked at the white lenses of his mask. This was exactly what she shouldn't be doing. "We shouldn't be doing this." There weren't any rules, but if there were, she knew this would be against them. She didn't move away, though, her hand tightening on his forearm to hold herself against him.

"Probably not," he agreed. "But let's play it _dangerous_ ," Dick grinned, his lips brushing hers. Her lips followed his.

"Are you sure that's what you want, Wonder Boy? Cuz there's no going back," she breathed. _For you either_ , she told herself, _stop now_. But her breathing sped up, and she glanced at his mouth.

"The way I see it, there was no going back the minute we first spoke to each other," he countered, kissing her again. His taste was overwhelmingly delicious, his kiss powerful and deliberate. She closed her eyes slowly as he kissed her again, his lips parting against hers. Thunder cracked across the sky above them. When they finally broke apart, his breath raced past his lips as she stared at them, the adrenaline kicking in, their hearts racing. Nightwing let go of her face and leaned back, and she watched him lick his slender lips nervously, his tongue pulling his bottom lip between his teeth.

She leaned up and tugged his bottom lip away from his teeth with hers.

"You asked for it," she muttered against his lips, pulling his face down toward her at the same time she pressed up against him. Her jacket was trapped between his back and her arm as she wound it tighter around his neck, pulling them closer as she kissed him firmly. Even through his heavy suit, she could feel his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Dick's hand tightened against her back, pulling her closer, suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to please her. Their hearts pounding, adrenaline rushing in their ears- it was thrilling. Dangerous and _exciting_. He tilted his head to kiss her better as thunder rumbled across the sky again, the first few heavy raindrops splashing on their heads as they kissed. Harley lifted herself up by her arms resting on his shoulders, and he grabbed her thighs to hold her in place as she wrapped her legs around his back.

"Still think this is a good idea?" she asked as she kissed along his jaw. She knew there was no turning back; it was too late because she didn't _want_ to turn back, and she was going to enjoy this no matter how wrong it was. She nipped him gently as she kissed down his neck.

 _Terrible idea_. Dick moaned a little, biting his lip as he held her up. He walked across the street and unsheathed an escrima stick, pausing to bite her earlobe. "Hold on," he breathed, firing a grappling hook into the wall of the hotel above him just as the rain really started coming down. He hit the button to retract it, and they both launched upward as Harley gasped, her legs clenching around his waist- Dick expertly caught the wrought iron railing of a suite balconet with his boots, and he easily stepped onto the small ledge before he replaced his escrima stick and kissed her again, balancing one arm under her as he felt up her leg for her gun. He took it out of the holster and fired two shots through the glass door, stepping over the threshold and into the dark room, abandoning his coat and the gun as he kissed her.

"That was hot," Harley mumbled. She tossed her jacket onto the floor before sliding her hands under his suit top and up his chest. "Any other moves?" she asked, her lips immediately locking with his again.

His moaning was cut off by her lips against his, and he grabbed her belt, pulling her against his hips. He unclipped it and threw it off into the dark of the room. If they were doing this, she wasn't going to be armed. "A few. But I'd hate to spoil the show," he muttered, grinning. "Though I don't know if I could top that one." Dick pushed her against the wall beside the doors, the rain blowing in and splashing on the shattered glass on the carpet. She gasped as he kissed down her neck and his hands felt down her body over her clothes, her back arching and her chest heaving as she panted for air. She thought about Joker before pushing all thoughts and guilt away.

"That's okay." Harley quickly yanked his suit over his head. "I can be on top." She smirked before her hands tangled in his hair, yanking his face back to hers. Dick's slow kiss intensified with his racing heart, and he bit her lip as his fingers tucked into her shorts, trailing along the hem and then slipping deeper. The muscles in his torso were sharply defined in the low light, his body riddled with scars. She could feel the heat coming off of his chest, in his arms around her; his gloves stripped away, she could feel the roughness and the callouses of an acrobat's fingers as they slipped between her legs. Harley moaned, breaking off the kiss as she leaned her head back against the wall. Her hands tightened on the back of his neck as she gasped for air. Fumbling slightly, she tossed her gloves off and let her hands explore his back and chest.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," she sighed. She undid his utility belt and let it fall to the floor. His strong body against hers was exhilarating. Her mind raced with all of the things he could do to her with it, and she craved every one of them.

"Yeah well, you do a lot of things you shouldn't do, and I'm tired of being so damn _good_ all the time," Dick mumbled against her neck. "But if you want to stop-" he set her on her feet again and yanked her shorts down- "I can stop," he breathed, kissing her collarbone.

"Don't you dare," she hissed, pulling him against her by his belt buckle.

"You going to make sure I don't?" he asked playfully, his hands tight on her hips as he kissed her shoulder. She could feel his arousal stiff in his pants, rubbing against her a bit in his impatience. She pushed him backwards, the back of his legs hitting the bed as he fell back on it. She knelt above him.

"I won't _make_ you continue," Harley breathed by his ear before leaning up and sitting on his hips as she slowly undid his belt. Dick moaned loudly again, his back arching a bit as his hands tightened on her hips, leaving indentations in her pale skin, and Harley ground herself against him. From what she could tell, she'd be disappointed if he decided not to continue.

"Holy deep waters, I'm in over my head," he gasped, grinning as he sat up and caught her face in his hands, kissing her hard.

"Did you just swipe my sayin'?" she asked as she undid the button of his cargo pants and pulled the zipper down. The amount of clothes between them still was agonizing.

"You stole it from me first," he laughed, biting her lip.

"Bullshit." She pushed him down by his shoulders. "Are you implyin' I'm a thief?" She abandoned trying to work his pants out of her way as his teeth tugged at her lip and instead pressed herself back down against him. Even through his cargo pants, she could feel that he was just as aroused as she was.

"I'm implying you're all kinds of wrong." He felt up her back until he reached the clasp of her bra, unclipping it. "But I'm also implying that it's a little bit of a turn-on." She leaned back so that she could toss her bra out from between them. Dick delighted in her newly exposed skin, his rough palms trailing over her sensitive breasts. Harley moaned and sat still to enjoy it for a second before leaning up on her knees, so she could shimmy his pants down. She trailed her hands along his thighs as she leaned forward again.

"But being bad is just too fun," she whispered in his ear. Dick shuddered, biting down on his lip.

"And good is just too boring," he countered. _This is a bad idea. You're not just talking anymore._ He grit his teeth, one hand on her waist as the other caught her leg and flipped her over, and he kissed down her neck. Dick's lips trailed over her torso, and he kissed her ribs just under her breast. He looked up. His hair fell in dark, messy waves against her skin, and a flash of lightning illuminated his smile as the thunder tore across the sky and his lips boldly moved to more sensitive places, his tongue pulling her nipple into his mouth.

Harley hadn't thought that he'd actually respond to her flirting; the Bats were always so distant. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, that it was a bad idea, but she couldn't focus with his lips on her skin. She didn't care anymore. The adrenaline, the danger of it all- it was too good to resist. Consequences be damned.

Wrapping her legs around his back, she pulled him against her as her hands slid into his hair again. It was so soft and inviting, and she was practically distressed when he sat up and her hands pulled out of his hair. He sat back on his heels, his powerful chest rising and falling with the breath racing past his lips. Dick looked out the window. He had to _think_ about this.

"You're right," he finally said, running his hand through his hair. "This is..." He trailed off, thinking of Barbara. _She's not interested. And you_ want _to move on._ He looked back at Harley. Her ivory skin looked so damn tempting in the low light as she lay there in nothing but her underwear, those carnal, sultry blue eyes watching him hungrily. She panted as she caught her breath, waiting for him to make his decision, and Dick couldn't keep his eyes from watching her chest trembling with the action. He couldn't help but think about how hateful Barbara had been, and then his mind wandered to Jason. He'd been right. Have fun and leave them with a story. It had been months since he'd gotten any; Dick was too 'good,' and he almost resented himself for it. Not to mention the threat- knowing that she'd tried to kill him a hundred times before, and that they both may be killed for this- just how _wrong_ it was- made the urge just too good to resist. Now _that_ would be a story.

Thunder rumbled outside and the wind through the smashed glass door blew his hair around his face as he leaned down, his hands running up her chest and over her neck to hold her face. He kissed her hard. Harley's hands clawed at his back as she pulled his body against hers; he groaned loudly, kissing her with more intensity. She knew he was right even if he hadn't said it out loud. This was a bad idea. She didn't even know his name, or what he looked like under the mask, but she just didn't care. His hands were feather light on her skin, his lips deliberate against hers, and it made her not care that this was a mistake. One of her hands trailed up his neck and into his hair while the other slid down his side to the waistband of boxers and tugged them down. Dick rolled again so that she straddled his waist, his lips still locked with hers. Everything about the situation made him dizzy, and he kissed her hungrily, wrapping a hand around her pigtail in her hair, his other hand tangled in her underwear as he held her against him. Harley rubbed herself along his length before smirking into the kiss and moving just far enough back to be able to wrap her hands around him. Dick groaned loudly, pulling her hair a bit before yanking her underwear out of his way. She let her head tilt to the side with his pulling at her hair and kissed just under his jaw. She kissed along his neck as she used her hands to steer herself into place. She paused just as he pressed against her, and it was agonizing to stop, but she waited for him to make the final move. The logical part of his brain pushed one last worry at him and he dizzily dismissed it, finally giving in completely to her touch. In one thrust, he was home.

The storm raged on until it began to grow quiet outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance as the dark sky stilled, the storm retreating from the city and leaving it overcast and drenched in the smell of the fresh rain.

It was hours before they'd had enough of each other. Harley looked at Dick, lying beside her, his chest still heaving. He looked... Not sad, per se, but... guilty? His strong jaw was set forward, his lips pursed as he bit the bottom one, smiling a little. His ebony hair was tangled around his shoulders, and a bead of sweat dripped around his mask on his face and ran down his slender neck, disappearing over his shoulder where a puckered bullet scar was reddened from the exertion. He turned his head to look at her.

"Terrible idea," she sighed. " _Great_ execution. Seriously, A-plus work, champ." She patted his chest. He laughed.

"You weren't so bad yourself." Dick let out a breath slowly. "A little on the violent side-" he glanced at his shoulder, where there were still marks from her fingernails- "but hey."

"You," she rolled onto her side, resting her elbow on the pillow and head on her palm, "said ya wanted dangerous. It's not my fault if ya couldn't handle it."

"Oh, _I_ can handle it," he laughed, flashing her his half-grin again. Harley grinned at him before her face twisted in a sort of grimace.

"I think we can agree that we shouldn'ta done that." The guilt was starting to gnaw at her, and she tried to ignore it.

"Definitely shouldn't have done that. Definitely not four times, either," he agreed, biting his lip. He smirked. "Doesn't mean I didn't _want_ to…"

"Well I'd be kinda put out if you didn't enjoy it," she grinned. She put her hand on his chest and winked. His body was still hot against her palm. "But I'm in a bit of a long term relationship." Her brow furrowed when she mentioned the Joker.

"Hey don't pin this on me like I made you do it, _you_ started it," he laughed, his arm shifting under her as he pulled her against him, his lips close to hers as he smiled. "You were the one flirting and damn near stripping in the street."

"Okay, flirting is part of my charm along with the stellar puns and killer knock knock jokes." She rolled over, sitting on his hips. Dick groaned at the sudden jolt, still acutely aware of his own sensitivity where she'd planted herself. "And it's not my fault if ya couldn't stop lookin', Wonder Boy." He smiled up at her, his hands on either of her legs around his waist. Biting his lip, Nightwing glanced out the window.

"It's Dick, by the way," he said hesitantly. "My name is Dick." She raised an eyebrow and glanced down his body with a smirk, rolling her hips on him a little. he bit down on his lip, trying not to moan out loud.

"Well yeah," she sighed and laughed, leaning her head back and enjoying the sensation. "But is that really what ya wanna go by?"

"No-" he laughed, shaking his head. "It's _Richard._ Dick for short." _Stupid,_ he argued with himself. But, yet again, what was the harm? It wasn't like she had a computer on hand to find out anything more than he told her.

"Okay. Harleen." She held out her hand. "Harley for short, but some a my friends call me Harls. All one of 'em. Nice ta meet ya."

"Nice to meet you," he chuckled, shaking her hand.

"So what brought you to this fine establishment, _Richard_?" she giggled, leaning her elbows on his shoulders.

"The fine company, of course," he smiled, watching her. His hand trailed absently up her side.

"Ah yes, the company!" she agreed. "It has often been told that the bed chambers are quite exquisite as well."

"Combine the two and you have a mighty nice time, if I do say so myself," Dick grinned, turning his head to kiss her arm where it rested on his shoulder.

"There is nary an occupant who does not agree," she laughed. "Although the service is deplorable. I ordered my cake ages ago."

"Damn them!" he cried, grinning. "I'll fight them all."

"My hero!" She kissed him on the cheek as she giggled. Dick smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I should be going, huh," he watched her, his smile fading a bit. Now that their initial fervor had passed, the panic was setting in. How long had he been off patrol? Harley's bottom lip stuck out as she pouted.

"Very well me lord." She sat up and stretched. Dick sighed slowly and followed suit, sitting up before catching her face and kissing her slowly.

"Will I see you again, fair lady?" he smiled.

"I dunno." She pursed her lips and looked down. "We can't do this again." She shouldn't have done it this time. There was the Joker, and she'd just betrayed him. With his enemy. She didn't know what she'd been thinking. Clearly she hadn't been thinking at all. She shouldn't have even started talking to him let alone let it get this far. The Joker would hate her if he found out.

"Of course not, but you can't just love me and leave me. I thought that was a guy thing," he laughed, cupping a hand under her chin and gently making her look up.

"So what?" She glanced between the lenses of his mask. "I just show up at your patrols, and we pretend this didn't happen?" Dick bit his lip, nodding slowly.

"Yeah, you're right," he raised his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair before getting up to pull his clothes back on. He shook the rain off of the torso of his Nightwing suit, pulling it over his head.

"What did ya do with my underwear?" she asked as she searched around the bed while clipping her bra back into place.

"It's over by the door," he said absently, pulling his gloves on before buckling his belt around his waist.

"Thanks." She went over and grabbed them, stepping into them as she came back. She sat on the bed and started pulling her socks back on. Dick stood silhouetted in the window as he tugged his jacket over his arms, looking down thoughtfully. His dark hair fell in front of his face. He didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he turned to look at her again.

"Well, I…" he shrugged. "Thanks, I guess?" Dick laughed. Harley looked up at him as she laced a boot back on.

"My pleasure." She winked.

Nightwing- _Dick_ \- watched her for another moment longer and then shrugged, stepping through the broken window and stepping up onto the balcony railing. He dove off, and with that- he was gone.

Harley fell back on onto the bed, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it. _You are a moron. A complete and total moron, and Joker is gonna be so mad_. She tossed the pillow to the side and stared at the ceiling as she contemplated what to do.

She could just _not_ tell him. It's not like Dick had anyone he'd tell that would get the message back to the Joker, and this was going to just be a one time thing. She gnawed on the inside of her lip. But that made her feel guilty. The thought of telling him made her feel worse because that would get Dick in trouble, and she didn't know what the Joker would do to her. Harley ran a hand through her flyaway bangs and sighed. She loved the Joker, but it was probably best if he didn't know.

Dick rounded the corner into an alleyway, took a swing at the wall, and then stifled a cry as his knuckles split on the brick, cracking it. _You complete idiot. You're embarrassingly stupid, and that was so dangerous. Batman will be furious._ He dropped his hand by his side, trying to think of an excuse for what he'd done.

Then again, he _didn't_ know. With Selina and Barry and his regular patrol- Batman didn't necessarily have to find out. _If_ it didn't happen again. Batman wasn't stupid, he'd figure it out, but Harley had made it clear that it wasn't going to happen again. Dick bit his lip. His guilt didn't lie in keeping secrets from Batman- secrets were all too familiar in the family- it lay in how much danger he could have put them in. Anything could have happened while he was with her, and he'd even told her his name. _Idiot._ He ran his hand through his hair and groaned. He was in deep, and there was no way he was telling anyone.

Harley pulled her jacket across her chest as she crossed her arms and continued pacing the hotel room. _Maybe I should talk to Red_ , she thought. _She's just gonna yell at me_ … She turned and paced back toward the window. But Ivy would be her only _living_ friend now, and she didn't have anyone else to talk to about this. She'd told Dick she wouldn't see him again since this was a mistake, but was she willing to go back to bored days waiting behind the waiting behind the wall for anything to happen? At least Dick hadn't thought she was ridiculous for wanting someone to talk to. She'd just taken it too far. She paced back toward the other wall. This hadn't been her only... transgression of sorts since she's first met the Joker, they'd had many breaks or incidents and she'd never been one to turn down _company_ especially if it would benefit her or even her and the Joker plans, but this was definitely the worst.

It was her fault. She'd taken the flirting too far. It had just been fun to see what reaction she could get out of him by doing it. Only he hadn't been as opposed to it as she thought a Batman lackey would be, and she'd secretly enjoyed that. Now she was stuck in this predicament, and wasn't delusional enough to think the Joker would be okay with it. She was crazy, not stupid.

Dick zipped his coat over the Nightwing symbol on his chest as he emerged from the alley on the next street. It had gotten colder when the rain broke the heat. _I could tell Jason,_ he thought. _God, he'd never let me live it down._ His boots splashed through a puddle. Jason would be the only one who might understand, though, and the only one who'd keep his trap shut. Maybe. Harley's adamant insistence that they wouldn't speak again had kind of offended him, then again, would it really be a bad thing? At least it had passed without incident, none of his family was compromised, identities intact. He'd just stepped way out of line. He turned down to walk his patrol route again.

It had been completely his fault. He should have had more control than that. It was just a welcome change of pace to step out of the monotony that had become his life. He'd thought he was going to get punched as soon as he'd kissed her, but she hadn't been as predictable as a rogues gallery villain usually was, and it had surprised him. But now he was tangled up in this mess, and he didn't know how he could quadruple-flip his way out of this one. There was a small chance that Batman wouldn't kill him, but he wasn't stupid enough to take it.

"He's Batman's sidekick!" Harley cried to the empty room. "He is _the_ freakin' sidekick, and you decide ta bang him." She rubbed her hands over her eyes as she let out an angry noise. Why had she even been talking to him in the first place? To gather intel? Ivy was right; that was ridiculous. That had been her excuse for getting out of Arkham and her original intention, but she'd be lying if she said that's what it'd still been about. She hadn't even been able to get him to tell her things they _did_ know about Gotham. The only thing she'd learned is that his name really fit his body, but how many Dicks had there been in Gotham before the Infection broke out? Definitely more than she could remember, and with such a high profile life choice she bet he kept his personal life out of the newspapers.

 _You're a moron_ , she scolded herself. _You've got a good thing goin' with Mistah J and this could ruin it_. She really had just wanted someone to talk to. She hadn't actually meant to betray him. It had just… been too good to stop. "If ya can't keep yourself under control, Harls, you're not leavin' the wall." She pursed her lips. It had to be strictly business from now on. She'd rather have someone to talk to and hear more about Gotham, like she was supposed to, than repeat what had happened- she glanced at the messy bed- no matter how _great_ it'd been. _No repeats_ , she told herself. If she couldn't stick to the Joker's plan, she'd have to remove herself from the situation. No more Dick.

"She's the Joker's _girlfriend_!" Dick cried, and then made sure his comm was off. "She is the only human being alive that he shares anything with, and you couldn't keep it in your pants?!" He ran his hands through his hair and groaned in frustration. Why had he even allowed it to get that far? They didn't have orders _not_ to talk to them, but he definitely knew that it wasn't what was expected of him. He was expected to do his job, take care of his family, and take care of Gotham. That was it. The entire job description. And he'd screwed up all three in one moment of weakness.

 _Selfish,_ he thought angrily. _If Damian got hurt or anything slipped by while you were supposed to be on watch, that's on you._ But it had been so different. He'd never had much direct confrontation with her before this, but he knew enough to know that she was the enemy. It had just… been too good to stop. "Seriously, curb the emotion. If you can't get ahold of yourself, you're telling Bats to take you out of Arkham rotation." He knew he couldn't let that happen again- he glanced back at the hotel- no matter how good it had felt. _Too risky,_ he reluctantly decided. He jogged off towards the docks, unaware of the figure standing on the Arkham wall, watching him.

Lightning cut across the horizon as the Joker grinned darkly.


	11. The One With The Flashback

"Robin, this is Alpha Leader, checking in," the voice was loud and clear over the comms, and Damian pressed his to respond.

"Good. Gamma squad just checked in, the team's all clear. Stay in pairs, no more than three. Let's go without incident again, shall we?" he said quietly. "Catwoman and I are making a trip to the Batcave for supplies, we'll rejoin the leaders in an hour, and then we should start heading back."

The supply run had gone North on the mainland this time, towards the Batcave where Robin had been given a list of things to retrieve. It was a long journey even by vehicle, and they had little time for collecting provisions before they would have to make the return trip. Robin changed the frequency on his comm.

"Catwoman, where are you?" he demanded, pulling his flashlight out of his belt. He turned it on and shined it around the grand foyer, draped in dust and cobwebs, neglected for far too long.

"Please," she laughed, "you think I ever came in the front door when I came to see Bruce?" She landed lightly in the second story master bedroom and closed the window behind her.

"That wasn't necessary, I'm supposed to protect you," he said sourly. Damian's boots kicked up dust as he walked through the deserted hallways of Wayne Manor.

"Relax kid." Selina trailed her hand along a dusty armoire, her voice quiet in the glittering light through the dust in the air. "The only thing here is ghosts." She glanced around the room sadly.

"There's no such thing as ghosts," he said quietly, stopping beside the parlor doors. He stared into the room for a moment before closing them, pushing the memories out of his mind.

"Who said the ghosts had to be tangible?" she mumbled as she gave the room one final look before opening the door. "So, the Batcave it is. How much crap do we have to find?"

"Not we. Me," Damian said clearly, stepping into the library. He pulled his backpack off of his back and began pulling books off of the shelves. There were a few empty bookcases where Thomas Wayne's medical volumes had once been; they'd been taken to the labs as soon as possible. Damian climbed up the ladder to pull out some more titles. "Father may not want you to know some of the things on this list even exist." Selina froze in the doorway.

"Seriously?"

"Yes," he answered calmly. He pulled the rest of the books off of the shelf and pressed the hidden compartment to release the latch. The back of the shelf swung open and he tucked the documents in his bag, heavily laden with books.

"It's bad enough that this is only the second time I've been let out of the house in over a week, but now I'm just supposed to sit here and twiddle my thumbs?" she demanded. She was still standing in the master bedroom, light streaming in from the dirty windows.

"Yes." Damian smiled, well aware that he sounded like his father. He slid down the sides of the ladder and landed lightly beside Titus. He pulled out a dusty copy of _Titus Andronicus_ by William Shakespeare and showed it to the dog. "Look, it's you," he said quietly, before putting the book back in his bag and walking to the grandfather clock. He turned the hands until it swung out, and he got on the elevator. "Here's to hoping this thing still works," he muttered, pressing the button. The elevator lurched a bit and stopped an inch below the door. Damian sighed in frustration.

"Oh good," Selina drawled, "now we're both in the same mood." She was wandering the upstairs rooms.

Damian dropped down the elevator shaft into the dark, and he pressed a finger to his mask to activate the night vision. The cave had been stripped when their base of operations had moved to Wayne Tower, but the souvenirs and trophies gathered dust on their pedestals; empty glass uniform cases unlit, one shattered and on its side. Damian ran a hand along the glass, his other hand thoughtfully rubbing his shoulder where Tim's Robin patch had been sewn onto his jacket.

"Let's just get everything and get out of here," he whispered. He didn't want to think about the terrible things that had happened in this haunted place, but at the same time- he didn't want to forget everything that the Manor had been. It was home. Not just to him, but Dick, Jason, Bruce, Tim… They'd all grown up here, not having known homes before. Except for Tim, of course. Even Selina called it home, and Damian imagined her walking in the halls above him in her sadness. "Are you alright?" he whispered quietly.

"I'm fine." Selina paused in the hall in front of a tarnished mirror. Her hair was getting too long at the neck, and she brushed it back, her eyes following the movement with a forlorn look. She turned away. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't have to pretend for us," he said quietly. "We were all barely holding it together when this all began, and then…" Damian trailed off.

"I'm not pretending," she snapped, suddenly angry. "I'm _fine_."

"Selina, I didn't mean it like you can't control yourself," Damian sighed. He walked to a drawer in a filing cabinet, picking the lock. "I just mean… even _I_ find it painful to be here, and I haven't known my father half as long as you have. This was… _is_ … our home." He pulled out a faded and battered journal, tucking it in his bag.

"You're right," she whispered, looking around. The chillingly dark hallways, still gray even in the daylight, used to be as clean as could be and warmly lit. "I miss him all the time." As she walked towards the grand staircase, memories flashed in her mind of her wedding day.

She'd dreamed as a child that it would be dazzling, bright- full of laughter and hope for a future- everything that she'd never known growing up in the dark disparity of the Gotham streets.

Damian paused after shoving some files into his bag. He stared up at the stalactites. A few bats fluttered in the darkness that surrounded them.

"I miss him too," he said quietly.

" _Master Bruce, will you be long tonight? It has been a while since you slept, sir, I highly recommend that you do- and I know that Miss Kyle is quite lonely," Alfred commented as he stood with Batman's cape, waiting as Bruce adjusted the heavy armor of his bulletproof suit over his chest._

Damian could still see his father standing there in the cave today, it had become so familiar- the dust coating the surfaces of desks and the Batcomputer screens- covered in sheets- now gave it the impression of desertion. Damian knew better.

" _I'll be fine, Alfred," Bruce sighed, turning around as Alfred threw the cape over his shoulders. Bruce snapped it in place and then pulled the cowl over his head._

Damian watched them- the ghosts of his memories- transfixed. He had looked up at his father, so much taller then. And Alfred- as much of a father to him as Bruce was- Damian could still see him standing tall and straight, the air of a soldier still surrounding him even though his years in the service were long forgotten. His clothes were always tidy and pressed, his silver hair combed carefully back. The thin moustache on his face was waxed as tightly as it's owner was wound.

" _Where are we going, Father?"_ He'd asked.

" _Falcone and Maroni have been taking hostile fire from an unidentified third party. We'll go offer our help to the GCPD in taking down all three," Batman instructed._ Damian had nodded then, putting his own mask over his eyes.

" _Very well Master Bruce. If you'll dismiss me, then, I'll turn in." Alfred said, putting his hands behind his back. Bruce nodded._

" _Of course. Go get some rest, Alfred, we won't need you."_

They did.

" _That's highly unlikely, sir," he sniffed, and the corner of Bruce's lips turned up in a smile._

" _If we do, we'll get ahold of you."_

They didn't.

Damian looked down, closing his eyes behind his mask. If they had called him, maybe he'd still be alive.

" _Very well sir. Then I bid you good luck, and good night," Alfred said, nodding a bit and hesitating for only a moment before he walked towards the elevator to Wayne Manor above. It had been sundown when they'd left._

The Infection had broken out nearly two months before then. No one knew what it was, and not many had contracted the disease- save for a few under government study in quarantined labs. It hadn't turned into a pandemic.

" _Robin," Batman snapped, drawing his attention from the rain on the windows as the Batmobile sped silently across the bridge into Gotham. "You've grown increasingly… unattentive lately," he commented. Robin scoffed._

" _I'll be just fine, Father."_

Robin passed one of the empty costume display cases and his reflection flashed in the broken glass- Tall, strapping; with a jawline like his Father's and hair close cut above his ears and longer at the top in a military crew cut black as the night. He remembered how he used to sit in the Batmobile; looking at his father in the seat beside him, feeling dwarfed by the towering silhouette of the Batman. He couldn't help but smile now at his reflection. He was nearly the man he'd always wanted to be. He was Robin, every past member of the family to bear the name had given him their blessing, and when he'd outgrown his uniform, he'd pieced together a new one from the histories of his brothers. Robin gathered the final items on Batman's list, and then he walked back to the elevator and grappled up.

 _Batman's boots landed silently on the rooftop of Salvatore Maroni's club, the music pulsing below them as Robin followed. They made their way through the dark to the skylight and Batman glanced at Robin._

" _Now when we go in-"_

 _He was cut off as someone screamed in the bar below._

 _Batman immediately crashed through the skylight, his cape charging and stiffening, allowing him to glide to safety just as his son did behind him. To their surprise, people lay around the dance floor and the bar in heaps, most of them unconscious and bleeding from bite marks in their necks._

 _Another scream sounded in the back room and Batman rushed forward, leaving Robin behind in the carnage. People were piled at the doors as if they'd tried to escape, and Robin examined the barred doors, a sense of dread filling his stomach, the likes of which he'd never experienced. Robin spun towards the back room when he was called._

"Robin?"

He pressed his comm, shaking off the memory. "Catwoman, yeah," he breathed, and he smiled a little. "Are we done here?"

"Just about. I'd like to get some personal things before we go."

"Take your time."

 _Robin rushed into the back room of the dark bar, the music still pounding in his ears. it was instantly muffled when the doors closed behind him. Batman was hunched over Maroni himself, gagging as Batman tried to stop the bleeding in his neck._

" _Call 911, Robin. Tell them that it… it's hit Gotham."_

" _It… you don't mean the-"_

" _-now, Robin!" he barked._

" _J-Joker-" Maroni gasped. "The Joker brought it here."_

The Infected. That's what they'd called them. Nobody wanted to call them anything else, least of all 'Zombies', but that's what they were. Robin had run back into the main room and killed the music still pounding in the club, calling Commissioner Gordon.

" _The Infection is here. Maroni's club was hit, he said that the Joker brought it to Gotham," Robin said into his comm._

" _My God," Gordon sighed slowly._

" _We need to find the… Joker…" Robin trailed off as the slumped figures around him began shifting slowly. His breath was shallow in his throat as a woman opened her eyes, the irises clouded over milky white. She sniffed the air a bit and looked straight at Robin._

"Selina, where are you?" Damian asked, glancing out the windows as he walked down one of the long hallways in the west wing.

"I stepped out to visit some ghosts," she smiled a little, standing in the sun before the memorials, across the back lawn and down a path through the trees. It was on the cliffside, overlooking Gotham. Alfred's makeshift grave stood here too. He'd been one of the first wave victims.

" _Batman!" Robin shouted, backing towards the doors to the back room and raising his fists as more of the Infected sat up and caught his scent. Batman came through the doors and assessed the situation._

" _Follow me," he breathed, diving through the doors of the back room. Robin did as he was told, and Batman barred the doors behind them. They went out the back exit, and circled around to the front where police cruisers were already arriving at the scene. Commissioner Gordon stepped from one, his glasses flashing red and blue as they reflected the lights._

" _Fall back," Batman advised. "It's too late."_

" _How many?" Gordon had asked._

" _All of them."_

The calls had started coming in that night. They later found that, not a week before, several of the Justice League members had returned from an off-planet mission, carrying a deadly alien virus. Direct contact with the League had been fatal, but they soon found that the disease didn't just kill- it brought its victims back. Among the first lives claimed were the friends and family of the League members, as well as countless human members. The disease was contained quickly and quietly, but on that night… that night was when all hell broke loose.

" _The Joker has gotten ahold of several Infection victims, and he's using them like dogs to infect other Gotham residents," Robin informed Batman, numb with shock, but just doing his job. Batman's hands tightened on the wheel of the Batmobile._

" _I'm sectioning off a wing of Gotham Central Hospital, telling them to move everyone to create a quarantine area to take the vics," Gordon told them over the radio in the car. "Let's hope we can keep the National Guard out of this, but I find it unlikely."_

" _Similar reports in other cities. Random breakouts across the globe in heavily populated areas," Robin informed them._

" _That's not going to be enough, Gordon," Batman growled. "Transfer everyone from Gotham Mercy in Uptown and keep them there. We'll try to concentrate the patients in one area, if we can, and keep the National Guard there as well. Keep it from spreading and evacuate everyone out of a five block radius of that hospital."_

" _Batman, are you sure this is that bad?" Gordon asked tentatively. Robin looked up at him, and Batman glanced at his son._

" _Best to be careful," he said quietly._

" _Well I'll take your word for this. Let's work together to try to hold off the damn apocalypse."_

If Batman hadn't been there in that initial night, Robin wasn't sure what would have happened. He walked down the stairs in the grand foyer, his footsteps echoing in the high ceiling. That night had been crucial, and he remembered thinking that when the sun rose the next day. If Batman hadn't taken control, if he and Gordon hadn't worked together; Gotham would be as deserted as the rest of the world.

 _Robin leapt over the Infected victim's head, catching it's arm and twisting it around it's back. He forced it to the ground as more poured down the alleyway. His uniform was splattered in blood, and he couldn't stop the terror in his chest. He'd never been afraid, his mother had beaten that out of him when he was young._

 _But until now, he thought he'd known what hell was._

 _Batman descended from the dark, dropping on the nearest three victims and knocking them to the ground as he turned and began to fight._

" _There are too many, Gordon, we need a new plan-" he bellowed as the bloodied hands began pulling at his cape, dragging him back. He grit his teeth and sent an electric charge through it, and the Infected growled and cried out when their hands were shocked. They released the fabric and Batman sprinted down the alley towards Robin, and the boy instinctively followed as they ran out into the street. More victims were down either side of the street, doors hanging open from houses and cars parked haphazardly, drivers either nowhere to be found, or lying gutted in the streets. Batman turned and fired his grappling hook into the building above them, landing on the roof followed by Robin._

 _From here, they could see the city burning._

 _Sirens wailed from every direction, fires lighting the skyline. The power had gone out around midnight and Robin looked up at his father. He panted as he pressed his comm, waiting for it to connect._

" _Lucius. I need your help."_

The idea had been to use raw meat to bait the Infected victims into semi trucks. People were panicking, trying to drive out of the city, barricading themselves in their homes; as the death toll went up, so did the terror. Arkham was in chaos. Infected were coming over the bridges, causing more panic as people tried to flee. Any way in or out of the city was so clogged with people that the National Guard couldn't even make it in.

They'd begun placing Wayne Enterprises trucks all over the city, filled with raw meat- drawing the Infected in. They fought tooth and nail for hours, evacuating Uptown Gotham of residents and relocating them to Downtown; the people that did make it out of the city didn't last long, and soon citizens were forced back into Gotham. The idea, Gordon and Batman's plan, had been to quarantine the Infected in Uptown Gotham.

" _If you wish to leave, continue on the bridge, if you wish to remain in Gotham, turn back," came the call on every bridge out of the city._

Robin remembered watching his father frantically call for his family- Dick, Tim, Jason, Cassandra- scattered around the city, around the country; he'd never seen so much fear on his father's face. He stood in the foyer, feeling dizzy.

"Selina, are you about done?" he snapped. "We need to be going. At this rate, we won't be able to rejoin the scouts until- Selina?" he asked, and no one answered. Robin broke into a run.

 _Make a choice. Leave or stay._

 _The family had come, of course, and one at each bridge relayed the message._

" _It's alright," Nightwing assured a family of three as they walked back towards the city hurriedly. "It'll be ok," he whispered, the flames coming off of the city reflecting in the lenses of his mask. It was happening again. He was losing everything, wasn't he? Was Batman even alive anymore?_

" _If you wanna go, get out!" Red Hood shouted above the screaming of the crowd, firing his pistol in the air. A woman shrieked. "If you want to stay, turn back. We have to clear the bridge!"_

" _Clear," Red Robin pressed his comm._

" _Here too," Nightwing agreed._

" _Almost done," Red Hood responded._

As the night went on and things grew darker, Batman and the Commissioner had finalized the plan.

Blow the bridges. Cut off Gotham. Quarantine the Infected. Save the city.

" _Wait," Batman commanded. "Selina and Alfred are still at the Manor, I've lost contact- I'm going to get them,"_ he'd told his sons.

" _I'm coming too," Robin said._

" _I need you here," Batman countered, looking down at his son, his jaw set._

" _You need someone watching your back."_

"Selina?!" Robin cried, his boot pounding down the dirt path, long overgrown with grass but still visible. He knew the way. The wind in the trees made the lush green leaves rustle; the branches swayed and creaked.

 _The house was dark when they'd arrived._

" _Alfred! Selina!" Bruce bellowed, his cape sweeping around the doorway as he ran out of the library. He looked around the foyer and then ran upstairs to the master bedroom._

 _Robin trailed behind, walking quietly down the hallway towards the parlor. Alfred often waited up for them, reading or watching late night programs on television. Robin could see a light under the door._

 _When he pushed it open, a fire burned in the fireplace, a figure hunched over in the chair. A sickening squelching sound came from in front of the fireplace, and the Joker stood slowly as Robin came around the couch to see an Infected, crouched over Alfred's corpse, his chest ripped open as his vacant eyes stared at the Joker's feet. That disgusting grin crossed the villain's face, and Robin's vision went red._

"Selina!" Robin shouted and then cried out as he was thrown backwards by an Infected leaping out of the trees. They tumbled down the path, it's teeth sinking into the heavy padded armor of his gauntlet.

 _The Joker laughed. The entire time Robin fought, the Joker cackled madly. Robin leapt up and kicked him in the face, sending the clown prince spinning to the floor. It was then that he'd looked up from where he'd knelt and seen the hatred in Robin's eyes. The boy ran at him and planted both boots against his back, throwing him to the ground as he pushed off and leapt towards the wall where his great-grandfather's swords hung._

Robin threw the Infected off as they tumbled into the clearing where his grandparents' memorials stood. Selina was holding her own against three of them, Robin fired his grappling hook into the tree beside him and swung towards the zombie that had attacked him, unsheathing his katana and decapitating it in one motion. He landed and drove the blade through the severed head, running towards Selina.

" _You son of a bitch!" Robin screamed, tearing the sword off of the wall as he launched himself back. He flipped over the Joker's head and landed, and then screamed when the villain's silver blade tore through his cheek, blood splattering from the wound._

One of the Infected grabbed Selina's arm and pulled her back as the other came towards her- Robin leapt into the air and kicked the first so hard that his boot went clean through it's skull. Selina's arm freed, she jumped forward and clawed the eyes of the second, pouncing on it. She cried out, tearing it apart with nothing but the sharp bladed claws on her hands. Robin jumped over her and killed the third Infected, his bloodied boots landing in the grass.

" _You'll pay for this," Robin spat through the blood rushing down his mouth. It was nearly enough to choke on. He lunged just as Batman rushed into the room, Selina on his heels._

" _Robin! No!" He bellowed, but it was too late. One slash of the blade tore blood from the Joker's throat and the clown prince fell back, the Infected lunging at him. The Joker cackled madly, tumbling through the broken parlor window with the monster._

"Are you alright?" Selina panted, and Damian nodded, doubled over with his hands on his knees. Selina laughed a little.

"Are you? Did you get hurt?" he asked.

"No, no. They just caught me way _way_ off guard," she sighed, standing up straight.

"We should go," Robin grabbed her arm, but Selina stopped him.

"Wait," she glanced at Alfred's small grave. "Don't you want to say goodbye?"

" _No," Robin choked, crawling towards Alfred's gory body. Bruce stared in silence at his friend, and Selina was shocked when he pulled his mask down and stifled a sob. He knelt beside Alfred and picked him up gently, trying so hard to keep him in one piece; he'd been torn nearly in half._

" _Father," Damian sobbed. "We can't- the bridges," he held onto his cape, and Bruce ignored him, walking out of the house. They could hear the sirens of Gotham wailing over the water in the dark_ , _and he led them down the path to his parents' graves._

"It seems like so long ago," Damian said quietly, taking his mask off. He rarely did, and Selina glanced at him, turning his face a bit with a hand under his chin.

"You look so much like him," she said quietly, and Damian smiled a little. His icy blue eyes were softer than Bruce's, not yet battle hardened from years of destruction. They stood in silence for a bit longer, and Damian couldn't help remembering how his father had slaved, digging a grave for his guardian as quickly as he could. There hadn't been time for a funeral of any kind, not even time to pay respects; they'd covered him and left. Bruce had looked up at the Manor and broken into sobs as they passed, but as soon as he'd reached the batmobile, he was stoic once again.

" _Is everyone on comms," he'd asked._

" _Bruce, what happened," Dick said quietly. Batman glanced in the mirror at Damian in the backseat, still crying, with a gauze pad taped over the gash on his face._

Damian touched the scar over his lip as he and Selina walked back to their truck in the sunlight.

" _Alfred is dead," Batman said calmly, but his voice wavered. "We were too late."_

" _No," Batgirl choked._

" _God, this can't be happening," Nightwing breathed._

" _Everyone else, blow your bridges now. Nightwing, wait on my command. Once you've blown yours, head to Carter Bridge in Midtown to assist GCPD in fending off anyone who may come to the city. Robin and I will work on getting the Infected into Uptown, and the civilians out. Move all civilians to Downtown. We want a buffer zone between Downtown and Uptown."_

Robin stared out the windshield as he drove them back towards the supply route. Selina sighed quietly in the sunlight, chilly in the cab despite the summer heat.

"What's that?" Robin asked quietly, glancing at the small book laying on the bag of things she'd picked up.

"Alfred's recipe book," she smiled a little. "I thought… Maybe it would be nice, to have something of his."

"Couldn't agree more," Damian smiled a little, looking out the window at the passing trees.

 _The bridge went up in flames behind them as the Batmobile sped through the city, heading for Midtown._

" _Father- what about them?" He sat up a bit, looking at the towering walls of Arkham City. Batman's jaw tightened._

" _There's nothing we can do for them, Robin. Civilians come first."_

 _Damian couldn't stop the satisfaction in his chest. He was_ glad _they were leaving them to rot._

" _It's going to be a long fight tonight, and we have to do everything right to save everyone we can. These people need more than hope."_

 _Nightwing and Batgirl listened to their comms as they rushed people out of their cars and over the bridge into Downtown. A little boy wailed for his mother, and Batgirl picked him up, Nightwing's hand on her back as she hurried the refugees across. She looked up at his face as he called to a family behind them, a mirror of her own features twisted in perpetual shock and horror. They weren't prepared for this. They weren't prepared to be soldiers._

" _They need heroes," Batman said quietly._

 _Red Hood was practically choking on blood now, and he didn't think it was his. Spoiler backed up into him. Her mouth was open wide in terror as she dropped the hand she was holding- just an arm now, and she gaped up at the mass of Infected coming towards them. Red Hood opened fire and they ran, rounding a corner as Spoiler retched on the pavement._

" _There's no more right or wrong now," Batman said over the comms. "Its survival."_

 _Red Robin ducked as Blackbat swooped over him. Diving back into the battle on the only bridge into the city. Policemen fell around them, screaming ringing in his ears, so loud it was nearly debilitating. He leapt up and began running over the railings on the bridge, Infected swiping at his boots, toward the teenager and his mother on the other side. He screamed as an Infected tore into them, and he stumbled on the railing, falling at the feet of the mother as she bled out before hitting the pavement. Red Robin trembled as he got to his feet._

" _We're going to lose a lot. But save who you can. You're the only ones that can save them. Don't forget that."_

 _Batwoman sobbed as she held her fianceé, bawling her name, Maggie's vacant eyes staring up at her in anguish. She was long gone, blood caked in her short hair, her body stiff in Batwoman's arms. She begged her to wake up. Voices called outside, crying for help, but she couldn't make her legs work. Maggie suddenly blinked, sniffing the air, and Batwoman scrambled back in horror as her dead fianceé stood before her. Bawling, she leveled a gun at her head._

" _Stay alive, stay safe. Save the city," Batman commanded._

 _Screams echoed in the distance, and they could hear the earth shattering explosions of the bridges being blown, severing ties to the mainland. Robin stared out at the burning city._

" _Where will we go now, Father?" he asked quietly._

" _Wayne Tower."_

Damian reached over and took Selina's hand like his father had that night, a comforting gesture, and she smiled a little. They weren't alone.

 _Selina squeezed Bruce's hand, her eyes wide in numb shock as she looked out the window to the dark city around them._

 _What now?_


	12. The One Where Jason Knows

"Think fast." Dick caught the water bottle Jason launched at his face. He was out of breath and sweaty, the punching bag still swaying in front of him. "How long have you been in here?" Jason asked. He twisted the cap off of his own bottle and took a swig.

"I don't know. How long ago did this shift start?" he asked, emptying half the bottle before taking a deep breath. He'd taken off his gloves, jacket and boots, but he still wore the torso of his Nightwing uniform and pants, the cuffs gathered around his wrapped feet. His hands were wrapped as well, and he dropped the water bottle off to the side of the room.

"If you've been in here since sunrise, that's just sad," Jason told him and set his bottle down. He'd come in for a short break during his city patrol.

"Can't sleep," Dick responded, situating his hands in front of his face and taking a stance in front of the punching bag.

"You know what your problem is?" Jason asked. He walked around to the other side of the punching bag to face Dick. He stared at Jason for a moment before throwing a right hook at it, and the force nearly swung it into Jason. He caught the bag. "You need to get laid."

"No," Dick snapped, and then rubbed his eyes. "Let it go, Jason, is that all you think about?"

"No. You've just been really," Jason landed two quick jabs on the bag, letting it swing between them, "pent up recently. Is it because of Barbara? Word around the tower is that you two might have a thing."

"Believe me, we don't. We got into a fight the other day."

"Interesting. I'm assuming it was your fault."

"I don't even know if either of us finished it, let alone who _started_ it."

"It's you," Jason shrugged, "so it's probably your fault. Just saying."

"I know, I know, I _know_ ," Dick hit the punching bag harder with the last word, dropping his head against it. "I just feel so guilty all the time and I'm trying so hard to please everyone, Jason. Now nobody's happy, and I failed. I'm in the expert business of burning bridges lately," he sighed, closing his eyes. Dick panted a bit, and pulled at his collar. His dark hair was pulled up in a lazy bun, and a bead of sweat trickled down his neck.

"It's refreshing to know that even when the world goes to hell," Jason grinned, "your life still sucks so much more than mine."

"You didn't used to think that. You used to get so much pity for being the 'failed' Robin. Not 'failure' mind you, your life sucked so much worse than the rest of us because _he_ failed _you._ But glad to see you're finally over it," Dick laughed, stepping back and throwing a few more punches. He swung around with a back kick, almost hitting Jason in the face.

"Watch it," he cried, purposefully missing Dick with a right hook. "And everybody's failed everybody recently, so I thought the bitter Robin bit could take the back burner for a while."

"Do you really think my aim would be that bad?" Dick teased, taking a step towards Jason. In an instant he had thrown two jabs in quick succession, and then he spun around to kick him again. Jason caught his leg.

"I don't know. You _are_ getting pretty old and senile." He pushed Dick's leg away, using his temporary unbalance to sweep the other out from under him. Dick fell, but he caught himself on his hands and rolled into a front handspring and landed on his feet again.

"Not _that_ slow, I could always beat you," he grinned.

"I'm in my prime, old man." Jason shrugged his jacket off and tossed it to the side. "You're just a has been."

"A has been that _always_ has been better than you," Dick grinned, mopping an arm across his face. He came at Jason with a few quick jabs, easily blocked, and then he suddenly changed maneuvers and leapt up, knocking Jason back when he kicked him in the chest. His armored suit protected him for the most part, but it still knocked the wind out of him. Had he not been wearing it, the blow could have cracked his ribs. Dick landed on his feet with a grin, his hands in front of his face again.

"Well if you want to play dirty." He made two quick jabs that Dick easily blocked but were hard enough to leave bruises on his arms. He grabbed Dick's arm, twisting it behind his back.

"What's the matter. Don't think you can handle it?" Dick smirked, tossing his head back into Jason's nose.

"Son of a bitch." He put Dick in a headlock and kneed him in the kidney.

"Jason-" Dick coughed- " _anger_ in check-" he laughed, still instructing through the pain, hooking his chin under Jason's arm and simultaneously forcing it away from his neck with the heels of his palms. Dick took a deep breath, jumping up. He swung forward with his full weight, throwing Jason onto the mat face first as he flipped and landed on his back, jackknifing to his feet and stepping away. Jason rolled up to his knees.

"It is in check." He stood and circled around Dick. "What's the matter? Can't handle it?" he taunted. Dick grinned.

"I can take whatever you throw at me," he countered, watching Jason carefully. He cried out and dodged when Jason threw a batarang at him. It embedded itself in the wall across the room.

"I thought you said you could catch _anything_ ," he said innocently.

"I said I can take it," Dick laughed, dodging a second one as he ran at Jason. Just as they were about to attack, Dick slid under his legs and back on his feet, sidestepping as Jason turned around, swinging an arm. Dick ducked below his second attempt, and laughed.

"Oops, my bad." Dick evaded when he attempted to take out his legs. "Stand still you little shit," Jason muttered.

"Be faster," Dick urged. "Anticipate my moves. I'd say _you're_ getting slow, old man. Don't tell me you peaked in your teens," he laughed, leaping out of the way of Jason's fist coming at his face.

"You know the thing about talking so much?" Jason asked, his eyes narrowed as they followed Dick.

"It's charming and makes people like me more than you?" he asked, his muscles tensing. Jason's elbow snapped back to where Dick's voice came from behind him. It connected squarely with his gut.

"It makes you easy to track." Jason smirked. Dick inhaled sharply and coughed, grabbing Jason's elbow and his shoulder and forcing him down on the mat, his arm behind him where Dick held it, ready to pull it out of it's socket. Jason pitched to the side, and Dick was yanked forward toward the mat. Jason kicked him away with both feet, his boots making contact with Dick's chest. Dick fell back, his head snapping back and hitting the mat as he coughed, seeing stars. He groaned and laughed wryly, pinching his eyes closed.

"Touche," he wheezed, getting unsteadily to his feet. He hesitated and then pulled the top of his Nightwing suit off, grateful for the rush of cool air clearing his head. Leveling his hands in front of his face and turning to Jason again, he smiled. "Don't go easy on me," he joked, chuckling. Faded scratches were reddened on his shoulders and down his back.

"Looks like someone already didn't," Jason commented. Dick glanced at the marks, and Jason took the opportunity to knock him down. "So what happened to you?" he asked, leaning over him.

"Don't worry about it," Dick grabbed Jason's ankle, yanking it out from under him. He fell beside him.

"I'm going to worry if you're losing fights to vicious cats." He rolled back up to his feet. "So what happened?" Dick sat up, draping his arms over his knees.

"I said don't worry about it, Jay," he sighed, looking up at him.

"If you don't tell me I'm just going to keep nagging you," Jason warned. Dick stood and shrugged, gathering his things and walking towards the door.

"Aw, come on!" Jason scooped up his jacket and water bottle and followed him. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it's none of your business. I need a shower," he muttered. Dick pulled his jacket on, covering the scratches. He got into the elevator and pressed the button to go up to the floor where his room was.

"Seriously," Jason stepped into the elevator before the doors could close, "why are you being so secretive about this?" He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"I'm not, I'm just-" Dick bit his lip, looking down. "It's just nothing, really."

"Bullshit. I'm going to start guessing," he threatened. "You know I'll see it on your face when I get it right."

"Jason come on! Why can't you ever just leave it alone you've been doing this for ten years-" Dick groaned and rubbed his temples.

"Yup," Jason grinned. "Now let's see, you didn't react to it being cats that caused it. Catwoman? No. Zombies? Damian? Annoyed citizen? When you fought with Barbara? Really vigorous with a loofa? A girl- A _girl_?!"

Dick fought to keep his face straight, but he involuntarily bit his lip and then groaned. "Damn it, Jason, I told you it was nothing." Jason burst into laughter.

"Good for you. I didn't know you were into stuff that rough," he admitted in an almost impressed tone, "but good for you. Glad you took my advice."

"I didn't… _mean_ to." Dick sighed, rubbing his face. Jason's smile faded, and he narrowed his eyes at Dick.

"What do you mean you didn't ' _mean_ to?' Why is it such a bad thing? _What_ did you do?"

"Jay, you can't tell," he said angrily, having flashbacks to their childhood together. "It's not _what_ so much as _who_ …" They reached Dick's floor, but Jason hit the close elevator button when the doors slid open.

"Alright, _who_ did you do?" he muttered once the doors were closed.

"Damn it, I didn't _mean_ to it just sort of happened! I was on patrol just minding my own business and then she waltzes up dressed like- like she's a friggin' Batman villain stripper, that's what- and it just sort of…" Dick sighed, not looking at Jason. "Harley Quinn. Freaking _Harley Quinn_."

"What?" Jason choked. "You did _not_ just say… Harley Quinn," he whispered her name. "What the hell?! You banged the Joker's girlfriend?" He paused for a second. "I'm actually kind of impressed."

"Yeah well. It won't happen again that's for damn sure."

"Why?" Jason shrugged, crossing his arms. "Aside from the initial shock of you deciding to dip into the rogues gallery and the fact that Batman will kill you, it's not actually that bad. I mean, you _clearly_ enjoyed yourself." He looked meaningfully at Dick's shoulder. Dick smirked and then bit his lip nervously.

"He will kill me if he finds out, don't you _dare_ tell him," he urged.

"Oh hell no. He rides my ass enough as it is. If he finds out, I didn't know anything."

"Thank God," he muttered. He pushed the button to get out of the elevator, and Jason followed him. Dick rolled his eyes and smiled a little. "But yeah. It was really… _really_ good," he laughed, pushing his bedroom door open.

"I really don't want know the details," Jason smirked, "but good for you. Keep it up… you beautiful lady killer you," he taunted as he laughed, and Dick smacked his hand away when he went to pat his face.

"I can't. That's not happening again. Ever," he sighed, dropping his jacket on the floor. Dick pulled the ponytail out of his hair and sat down on his bed. "She forbid it. Apparently still loyal to the Joker. God, I can't even believe I'm saying that."

"Okay, bad mental image. But her lackluster choice in men aside, you slept with the Joker's girlfriend," he said. "Again, bad mental. Think about it... Not her and the Joker, but you _literally_ tapped his best resource. His only loyal ally isn't looking so loyal anymore. I say her loyalties becoming conflicted is just a bonus to great sex. Even if you can't get info out of her, you're still getting something."

"Well way to make me feel guilty," he chuckled. "That _is_ true, though. She didn't seem so loyal then. If I could..." Jason stared at him for a long time. He sat at the table with a sigh.

"You have feelings for her don't you?"

"What- Jason come on. We had a thing for a few hours, and that was it. I don't. I was only saying that it would be a huge blow on the Joker if we could actually manage to rip her away from him." Dick rubbed the scratches on his shoulder.

"Well don't do it if you don't want your heart broken because first, it might not succeed and second," he kicked his legs up on the table, "hope is written all over your little puppy dog face."

"Shut up, Jason," he snapped.

"Okay." He held his hands up in surrender. "So what are you going to do? Hasn't she 'forbidden' it? Must not have been as good as you thought."

"No, she was... Upset? About cheating on the Joker. She hasn't 'forbidden' it, per se, but she's said that it 'can't happen again.'" Dick looked away at the sun outside the windows, shining on the glass buildings.

"Well lover boy," Jason stretched, "it's time to put your moves into action."

"Yeah," Dick looked down. "I should sleep," he added lamely.

"I thought you said you weren't tired?"

"Well I can sleep now, now that I have an idea what I'm doing," Dick sighed.

"Uh huh, sure." Jason stood up and yawned. "Well have fun with your screwed up life." He left to get back to his patrol.

"Yeah, you too," Dick chuckled, dropping back against the sheets. He sighed. _What am I gonna do?_

* * *

Ivy walked in her front door and saw Harley lying face first on the bed.

"What are you doing here?" She dropped her keys in a bowl by the door as she relocked it. She'd been lucky there had been keys in the room when she'd found it. She looked back at Harley, who hadn't moved. "What's wrong with you? You're never this quiet." She crossed her arms and watched Harley. After a minute she walked over and nudged her.

"Are you dead?" Ivy asked as Harley made a strangled noise. Ivy sighed. "What is it?" She couldn't hear when Harley mumbled into the pillow. "What?" She leaned in when she mumbled again. "Seriously, what the hell?" Harley lifted her face off the pillow.

"Tomorrow is day four," she cried before face planting again.

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," Harley rolled over, "that the sun is going to set, an' when it rises, it's day four."

"You make no sense," Ivy muttered. Harley looked at her with wide eyes.

"I did a bad thing."

"What did you do?" Ivy demanded.

"Well… um…"

"What?"

"It was just an accident…"

"What?"

"It won't happen again, but…"

"Tell me," Ivy snapped.

Harley cringed and said in a rush, "I slept with Nightwing." Ivy stared at her.

"You what?"

"I didn't mean to," Harley rambled quickly, "I just remembered what ya said about him liking me and-"

"-that didn't mean _do_ him!" Ivy cried.

"I know, but then the flirtin' got out of hand, an' it turns out he does like me… I think. Or something like that. It coulda just been cuz I was dressed like a stripper." Ivy shot her a look. "What?! The outfit was cute," she defended. "Okay, okay, I know. I shouldn'ta started talkin' to him. And then he kissed me, and… He's a _really_ good kisser."

"Harley!"

"I know! I shoulda stopped, but I couldn't. I mean, it was _great_ -"

"-Harley," Ivy warned.

"I know!" Harley cried. "I cheated on Mistah J!" She sat up as Ivy reeled back.

" _That's_ what you're worried about right now?"

"Well, yeah."

"You just slept with Nightwing. Batman's right hand man."

" _The_ sidekick," Harley added quietly.

"The Joker's hated enemy's favorite Robin, and you're mad at yourself for being unfaithful?"

"Well, yeah," she repeated, falling back against the pillow. "He'll never forgive me."

"He'll kill you," Ivy corrected. "I told you to be careful!"

"I tried!"

"No you didn't." Ivy stood up and walked over to the kitchen. "And I don't know what your fascination with the Bats are. They're not cute. They're annoying."

"Have ya ever tried not fightin' one as soon as you meet 'em?" Harley asked. "Works a lot better." _Works too much better_ , she amended to herself.

"Actually," Ivy said stiffly, "I have." She rolled her eyes at the look on Harley's face. "The Red Hood one followed me around Gotham to make sure I didn't break anything. I really just wanted to break his neck," she muttered. Harley practically flailed as she sat up.

"You like him."

"No I don't," Ivy snapped. She took a bowl out of the sink and tried not to slam it down when she put it away.

"Come on, they're cute."

"No."

"Just a little?" Harley pried.

" _No_."

"Yes."

"Harley, no."

"A little bit."

"Fine!" Ivy cried. "A little bit." Harley cheered triumphantly. "But that doesn't change anything. And don't try and change the subject. _You_ ," she pointed an accusing finger at Harley, "slept with one of them."

"Jeepers!" she shushed her. "Ya don't have ta announce it to the whole neighborhood. And I feel bad about it, okay. It won't happen again."

"Sweetie he killed Selina, and she wasn't even that close to him. What would he do if he found out that you betrayed him?"

"I wouldn'ta told ya about that if I knew you'd use it against me," Harley muttered.

"Harls, this is serious!"

"I know! I know it is. It's not like I meant ta screw everything up. I just wanted ta push his buttons," she mimed jabbing the air, "and I just wasn't thinkin'. It all just happened, and I knew I shouldn't do it, but I did, and I don't know what ta do." She grabbed the pillow and hid her face in it. "What do I do?" Ivy sighed and leaned against the counter. She glanced out the window. The sun was setting, and the room was getting dimmer; she'd need to light candles soon.

"How about don't sleep with him?"

"Thank you!" Harley cried. "Big help. One point to the plant. I coulda never thought 'a that on my own."

"I'm serious. Don't see him again. You didn't get caught this time, but you can't do it again. As much as I hate the Joker, you can't piss him off. We're all trapped here in Arkham, and he's in charge."

"I know, what would I do without him?" Harley leaned across the pillow as Ivy let out an annoyed sigh.

"Be happy? Be independent? Not be in a stupid ass relationship?"

"Stop it. I love him. I just made a dumb butt mistake." Harley punched her pillow.

"Fine, but no more mistakes then. You can't tell him, and you need to be careful. No more seeing Nightwing." Harley puckered her lips. "I know you Harley. No more seeing him."

"But tomorrow's day four. It's his patrol day." She was technically still on the hook for trying to get intel. She'd made a pretty big deal of it to the Joker in order to justify wandering around and talking to whoever. And she did still want to be helpful. Maybe if she kept her distance and set ground rules...

"No. _No_. Harley! You don't want to make the Joker suspicious."

"Why do ya keep sayin' that like he's a dog I need ta tiptoe around so he doesn't bite me? He loves me. Maybe he'd forgive me if I told him." She didn't like the idea of lying to Joker. They knew everything about each other, and she didn't want to start keeping secrets now. Joker was by no means the only person she'd been with since taking up the persona of Harley Quinn, but she'd never lied to him about it before.

"Arguable on both counts."

"Okay, we may have our problems, but he's always said he was sorry or let me come back."

"And how many times was he saying sorry because you'd left? Or because he didn't succeed at killing you?" Harley clenched her jaw as she stared back defiantly at her. "Just," Ivy took a deep breath, "be careful Harls. And don't go see Nightwing again."

"But what am I supposed to do? You and Mistah J are always busy, Dent is still caged up in Gotham, and I'm bored," she whined.

"Take up knitting. I don't care. Just don't go see him again."

"What if I don't flirt with him?"

Ivy laughed. "Harley you aren't even aware of how endearing you not flirting can be. I think it's the craziness, but I don't know. _Don't_ go see him."

"Fine. I'll just die of boredom and bean overdose." Harley crossed her arms as she pouted. Ivy watched her, unsure if she'd really keep her word.

"You know, I don't have to give you any food."

"If it's beans, I don't want it."

"And if it's watermelon?" Ivy asked.

"Then I apologize." Ivy laughed as she opened the fridge.

"That's what I thought."

Harley rolled onto her back with a sigh as Ivy cut up the fruit. She considered trying to get back to the tower before nightfall but decided it didn't really matter. Joker had been locked up in his office and hadn't even noticed she'd left. She knew Ivy was right and that she should stick behind the wall, but great sex aside, Nightwing had been fun. He'd taken her into the city and actually talked to her. She thought he was right, they could be friends.

She glanced over at Ivy. _What am I gonna do?_


	13. The One With All The Rules

Harley sat cross legged on a rooftop as she watched Nightwing pace below her. She'd tried to follow Ivy's advice but had only been able to stand a few hours of boredom waiting around the tower before she'd snuck out here. Joker was planning something in his office, but for now that just meant she was staring at a closed door. But she still knew she shouldn't be out here; she shouldn't risk repeating her mistake. Dick hadn't seen her, and she'd spent the better part of the day watching him and trying to decide if she should talk to him or not.

The spot she was sitting in now had a clear view of the opening in the wall and Dick pacing below, but she could easily duck out of sight if he looked up. Dick had come back here a few times throughout the day, and every time he'd stuck by it for a while. She was frustrated with how flattered she was by that. She flicked her red pigtail over her shoulder.

He kicked a can across the street and walked along the curb, his hands in his pockets. It was hot and humid today, and he'd completely abandoned his usual GCPD coat and Nightwing top, wearing instead a streamlined charcoal and white-gray top, fitted to his athletic frame. Sharp blue streaks stretched from his collar and over his chest, angled down to his belt buckle. His dark hair was in a loose bun on the back of his head. Lazily flipping forward onto his gloved hands, he walked a few feet that way and then tumbled back onto his feet. He was so casually agile. It was an oddly admirable quality; that he was so good he barely had to think about it. He sighed and stopped in the middle of the road, looking around.

Harley's head snapped back as she looked behind her. Her eyes roamed the area, but she couldn't see anything. She fidgeted with the hem of her shorts and reluctantly turned around, unable to shake the feeling she was being watched. Dick was walking away down the street, and Harley jumped up. She ran over to the edge of the building but hesitated just as she went to leap over to the next one. In her hurry, she'd gone too soon; Dick wasn't far enough away and might see her if she jumped. Her feet had already left the roof by the time she'd realized it, and the hesitation only served to make her come up short.

She let out a loud squeal as her fingertips scraped the next building's roof edge. She almost managed to grab a fire escape rail on the way down, but she lost her grip when her arm was nearly yanked out of its socket. Pinching her eyes closed, she braced her shoulders for impact. Instead, she let out a whoosh of air as someone caught her. She peeked her eyes open to see Dick's face. He stared at her in shock before breaking into a grin.

"Well hi. Didn't think you were going to drop in today," he laughed, still beaming.

"Oh my God, I thought I was gonna die," she gasped, clutching her chest.

"Nah, I can't let that happen. Part of the 'hero' thing," he watched her. The sunlight glinted off of his mask. He still didn't put her down. She took a few steadying breaths now that her heart wasn't pounding as hard. She suddenly became very aware of how she was cradled into his chest as he held her bridal style.

"Well then I'll make sure ta fall only when you're there ta catch me."

"Y'know, we heroes aren't equipped to save the civilians and the villains. Way to make my job difficult," he laughed, a warm breeze blowing down the street and sending an old torn newspaper skittering into the gutter.

"Umm," Harley stared up at him for a second. "Okay, no. No, no, no." She climbed out of his arms and moved away from him. "We can't do the whole 'cute banter while ya hold me in your arms' thing. No." She took a deep breath. "We can't repeat what happened last time."

Dick stared at her for a moment before he shrugged, and then he jumped up onto the hood of a car, walking onto the roof. He paused thoughtfully and spun on his heel to face her. "All right, no more funny business. I agree to that," he smiled, biting his lip a bit as he looked up. Clouds were racing to block out the sun and he sighed, closing his eyes. "It's never just _sunny_ here, is it?" he breathed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Well it's sunny when you're around," she grinned before wincing. "No, sorry. Damn it. No more flirtin'. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that _literally_ your thing? Your villain thing?" Dick stepped off of the car. "Joker's got the grin and laugh thing, Scarecrow's got the mask, Nygma had the riddles- you've got the 'bash your face in with a hammer and then kiss your cheek and still look cute' thing," he smiled, walking towards her.

"No." She put a finger up. "No calling me cute or complimenting me. And no flirtin'. We need ta set up ground rules."

"Well now you're just taking away half of my personality," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"Well suck it up. In case ya forgot, I'm kinda already in a relationship. So if we wanna be friends, we need rules because I feel bad enough as it is cheatin' an' bein' out here again." What she really felt bad about was the lying. She didn't regret the sex; she regretted having to lie to Joker about it.

"A relationship I still don't understand." He stared at her for a moment and then sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. "All right, _what_ ground rules?" She ticked off the number one on her fingers.

"Rule number one, no sex… obviously." Dick raised an eyebrow behind his mask, his lips parting in a small smile. "Two, no flirting." His smile grew wider. "Three, no unnecessary touching," she continued to tick off on her fingers.

"Wait what the hell does that even mean?" he asked, still grinning.

"It means no touching. Is that a problem? Did ya need me ta hold your hand if we go somewhere scary?"

"Well if it's _really_ scary, maybe you could just hold me," he shrugged, biting his lip.

"And no biting your lip." She reached over and pulled his bottom lip away from his teeth. "Stop that. That is not allowed."

"You touched me you said we couldn't touch each other!" he cried, pointing at her. "No unnecessary touching; you touched me."

"That was completely necessary!" she defended.

"No it wasn't, you could've just said 'no biting your lip,' and I would have stopped. You _wanted_ to touch me, didn't you?" he grinned, grabbing the light pole beside him and swinging around it lazily. She rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Do you have any ground rules ya want established?"

"Yeah, no trapping me by dressing the way you did the other day," he mumbled, stopping to lean against the pole.

"Is this okay?" Harley held her arms out. She was wearing a pair of shorts that were black on the left and red with black diamonds on the right and thigh high boots. Her gun holster was attached to a silver belt with a red and black buckle. She was wearing her red and black jacket again over a sleeveless top with a sweetheart neckline that ended just above her navel thats inner right side was red while the other half of the right side was black, and the other side was reversed. "Or do I need ta go change?"

"That's too cute, you've gotta change," he said matter-of-factly. "Which reminds me. You can't talk, either."

"I can't talk?!" she cried incredulously.

"Nope. That accent is too much, if you talk you're too cute. You're not allowed." He grinned.

Harley groaned. "What do ya want me ta do? Mime stuff?"

"Well I don't know how you'd do that. Try using a different accent," he laughed. She was serious, and he was just playing with her, she could tell.

"How about I try punchin' ya in the jaw?" she offered. "Then we'll see how _you_ talk."

"Don't worry, beautiful, I'd still look this good and sing like a bird," he laughed lightly, lacing his hands behind his head and stretching.

"What did I say about complimentin' me?"

"Yeah yeah, don't get your harlequin panties in a bunch, I know. That's my job," he grinned. She glared at him.

"I could go back home," she warned. "At least I'm tryin' here." She wasn't sure why she was trying, but she was.

"Ok, fine. I'm sorry." She was the only friend he'd made in a year and he didn't want to lose her over this. He dropped his arms away from his head. He pressed on one of his escrima sticks and it shot out of the spring loaded holster and into his hand, where he spun it lazily and then dragged it along the side of the car as he paced away from her. "Hmmm, ground rules. I agree with the no touching. I wasn't serious about the other two, I mean you can wear what you want; it's up to me to control myself, I guess..." He sighed thoughtfully. "No asking me about my own relationship status anymore, or I'll have to quiz you about yours," he turned, strolling back towards her.

"Okay fine," she pouted, "but it's not like my relationship's a big secret. Anything else?"

"Not that I know of," he shrugged, twirling the escrima stick in his hand.

"Okay." Harley held her hand out. "Friends."

"Friends," Dick agreed, shaking her hand as he laughed merrily, sheathing his escrima stick. "So what now?"

"I guess you continue patrol?" she asked. "Or do ya need ta keep pacin' in front 'a the entrance?" She grinned.

"Well I've seen you now. That's all I wanted," he shrugged. The hot breeze blew again and Dick exhaled with it, smiling at her.

"Jinkies, what's with ya makin' all the moves?" She crossed her arms. "Before when I was hitting on ya, you were perfectly distant. Now that I say no, you're smooth as freakin' butter. Why?"

"Maybe I just don't like being outmatched," he laughed.

"I wasn't tryin' to _outmatch_ ya." She rolled her eyes. "And we agreed no flirting," she pointed out.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just... Lonely I guess," he sighed, biting his lip. "It's been a while since someone actually flirted back. But I'm used to being told that people aren't interested. Just gimme a bit to turn it off," he smiled a little, looking up at the clouds covering the sun.

"Well that's just heartbreakingly adorable." She stood on tiptoe and hugged him around the neck. "Tell me who these girls are, an' I'll beat some common sense into 'em. I have a hammer with 'common sense' painted on the head."

"You just broke two rules, you know," he smirked, hugging her back before releasing her to look in her eyes. How had he not noticed they were so _blue_?

"That hug was _completely_ necessary," she corrected, "and I was askin' for a hit list not about your relationship status. Big difference."

"You always were a rule bender as well as breaker." Dick chuckled, starting to walk his patrol route. He glanced over his shoulder in hopes that she'd follow. She skipped up beside him.

"So how's your Red Hood friend?" Technically speaking, her priority for being out here was still intel over friendship, but she was asking for more personal reasons than professional.

"Red Hood? Still as sarcastic and cynical as always. You two would get along," he laughed.

"Good ta know." The mugginess and heat were starting to get to her, and she contemplated taking her jacket off. "Ivy says he's a royal pain in the butt, so I can only assume he's my kind 'a guy." She grinned. Dick rolled his eyes, looking down at his boots as they walked over the cracked pavement.

"If you like that sort of stuff, I guess," he mumbled, and then the corner of his lips pulled up in a smile. "I always had a crush on Poison Ivy," Dick mused. "And there's just something about redheads..." He smirked, glancing at Harley out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry ta break it to ya, but I don't think you're her type," she smirked. Then again, she hadn't thought Red Hood would be either. "But wasn't Batgirl a redhead? Why don't ya go give her another try?" she pried. Dick made a buzzer noise.

"Sorry, that line of questioning is against the rules. Unless you want to answer a terribly revealing question about the Joker and you, leave me and Batgirl alone," he smiled. He looked up at the surveillance camera on the building beside them. It was still functioning and hadn't been tampered with, and he smiled. Harley pursed her lips.

"It depends on the terribly revealing question," she hedged.

Dick thought for a moment. "You know what he's done, you know what he's like. What is it that you see in him that no one else does?" he asked, watching her. Harley considered it.

"He's funny. I dunno, he was alone and hurtin' and just needed somebody, an' I fell for him." She shrugged. She couldn't explain how it made her feel to know that _she_ was the one Joker would open up to, let in, come home to. How it felt to know that she alone was in on the joke. "Why is everyone so hung up on that question? Is it cuz he's crazy? Cuz a little crazy isn't a bad thing." She crossed her arms.

"I'm not saying that it is. So you love him because he's funny? The pity doesn't count. You can't count him 'needing somebody' as a reason to love him. So why do you love him?"

"I dunno," she sighed. "Do I need reasons ta be in love with somebody?" She walked ahead of him. "Why can't the reason he makes me happy be good enough? Sure he's not perfect, but at least he's been there for me."

"You don't need reasons. The only reasons you should need should be that he makes you happy, and he _loves you back._ That being said, I don't think you know what love is." Dick watched her calmly. They'd reached the docks at the northernmost point of the island.

"And what about you? Do you know what love is?" She glared at him. "You're askin' me a lotta questions considerin' ya never answered mine."

"I don't claim to know everything, but I know what love feels like and I know that what you have, that's not love. And as for Batgirl and I, we have a long complicated history. We dated for a long time after the man you claim to love shot and paralyzed her. I proposed, a lot of stuff got between us, and we broke it off. It's not that easy to just pick up again, because love isn't easy. It's complicated." Dick stared at her, and then sighed quietly. He wasn't mad, or bitter, or upset. Just... Clear.

"New rule," Harley muttered. "No insultin' Mistah J."

"I didn't say a word against him," Dick pointed out. "I said that you don't know what love is, and I mentioned that he severely hurt someone I care about. Does that make you uncomfortable? It's all fun and games when you don't know who you're hurting, isn't it?" he asked. Again, he wasn't trying to attack her. He was talking as calmly as could be. His impassive, relaxed tone only seemed to make his words more frustrating.

"Well how many people have I hurt?" Harley demanded, jabbing him in the chest. "I've hurt you, nearly killed Batman, done a number on Robin. Does that make ya uncomfortable? Does it in any way change this conversation? Huh? Wanna stop bein' friends now?" She glared at him, resisting the urge to shove him away. His cool logic was infuriating. He smiled a little.

"I didn't say you made me uncomfortable; you don't. I asked if _his_ actions make _you_ uncomfortable. I asked if you turn a blind eye to the things he does because you love him. And do you want to know _why_?" Dick stepped closer to her, looking down at her from his height. "I see something in you that isn't in him. You have a conscience. You have the _capability_ to love. Which is what is so sad about all of this. _He doesn't._ " Harley's chin jutted out.

"Stop it," she whispered. "Ya keep sayin' you know what love is like you're some kind of expert, but why can't I recognize it too? Are you just _so_ much smarter than me?" She shook her head. "Leave me alone." She brushed past him and walked away.

Dick still spoke quietly. He didn't follow her, but he made sure she heard his words. "Has he ever made you breakfast in bed? Has he ever told you you look amazing, just out of the shower, or sick as a dog; has he woken you up in the middle of the night just to tell you you look cute when you're asleep? Has he given you flowers, or brought you things that reminded him of you- have you ever woken up with him and found him there, holding you? Hell- has he even _said_ that he loves you?"

"Stop it!" she cried, spinning toward him. "Why won't you stop?" She marched back over to him. "What made you and Batgirl fail? If you're such an expert, why are you alone?" She pounded meekly on his chest. "Just please stop." Dick caught her hand by his chest, suddenly angrier.

"I don't claim to be an expert; I said I knew what love felt like. There's still a lot for me to learn and Batgirl has nothing to do with it anymore. She doesn't want that, so she's not right for me. The end. Even when I was with her, I knew she'd never love me the way I loved her. And now I'm alone because I chose to pursue that relationship to it's bitter end. If you haven't noticed, there aren't a lot of options here. But I would rather be alone than in the cold loneliness of the Joker's bed," he snapped, letting her go. Harley stared at him with her mouth hanging open for a second. He let her punch him across the jaw, not even trying to block it.

"You're such an ass," her voice cracked. She turned her face aside and began walking away again. He quickly followed, and she felt his hand in hers. When she tried to struggle, he caught her arms and made her look at him, bending down so that they were face to face.

"I'm sorry, Harley. You're right, I shouldn't have said that. It's only because I _do_ consider you a friend, that I did. Why would anyone want to see their friend go through that?" he said quietly, and she knew she'd heard the words before. Ivy- her _friend_ \- had said them a thousand times.

"Why can't you all just let me be happy?" Harley tried to sound harsh past the lump in her throat. "I'm happy, just leave me alone." She bit the inside of her cheek and tilted her face down. Dick cupped a gloved hand under her chin gently and brought her eyes to his again, smiling a little.

"We just want you to be _sure_ that you're happy," he said quietly, his lips meeting hers as he kissed her. She wanted to pull away, wanted to keep being mad at him, but that part of her brain shut down. It had been weeks since the Joker had really looked at her, let alone kissed her, and her willpower crumbled. She knew Ivy had been right as she clutched onto him, she wasn't able to handle being out here with Dick.

He kissed her back in surprise, still holding her face. He let the fervor taper off before pulling away a bit. "Whoa, now, I know I instigated that but it's against the rules-" he was cut off when she kissed him again, and his eyes closed behind his mask. She didn't want him to talk. She didn't want to realize this was a mistake. She didn't want to feel. And she was going to make sure he gave her that.

"Dick," she sighed against his lips as she pulled her body against his. He moaned in shock, and his breath caught in his throat. He hadn't meant for this to happen. As a matter of fact, he didn't think that anyone had ever reacted that way when he'd been so rude. _Maybe she's crazy,_ he thought, trying to breathe through her kiss making his head spin. The thought made him smile against her lips. Harley bit his lip, using it to pull him down to her level. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her chest into his.

"Harley you didn't want to do this," he reminded her, gasping. He already knew his resolve was crumbling, thinking about last time. About how much he _wanted_ this. His hands slid up her waist under her jacket, holding her close.

"Maybe the problem was I _did_ want this," she snapped. Her hands pulled his face back down to hers. "What's the matter? Ya said I don't know what love is. Don't ya wanna show me how _you_ make love?" she challenged before kissing him hard. Dick moaned, his eyes pinched closed as he pulled away from her kiss.

"No. That wasn't what I meant," he panted, holding her face away from his.

"So?" She licked her lips, and his eyes followed the movement. "Isn't this what you wanted all along?" One of her hands trailed along the back of his neck.

"Yes- _no,_ I-" he sighed anxiously, his lips brushing hers. He groaned. "I didn't- _don't_ \- want to take advantage of you- that's not what I intended-" he breathed, stroking her cheek.

"Aren't I the one offerin'?" she asked, deliberately pulling their hips together. "So ya can either stop talkin', or I'll go find someone else who'll satisfy me," she warned. She knew she was being deliberately unfair, but she couldn't have him saying no.

"Not like I can," he whispered in her ear, biting her neck gently as he finally gave in. Harley grinned triumphantly, grabbing his face to pull it up and kiss him. She moved her hips against his as her hands slid into his hair. Dick reluctantly kissed her back. He wanted to pull away. This wasn't right, it was worse than last time- but he wanted _her_ too much. He kissed her slowly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Biting her lip, he guided her tongue into his mouth with his and kissed her again. She happily kissed him back. She kept one hand tangled in his hair while the other moved to pull at his utility belt.

"Are we just gonna do this right here?" she gasped.

"Unless we're going back to your place," he whispered against her lips, grinning. He took her hand and suddenly started running down an alley. He knew there had been an apartment complex around the corner, and grinned when it was still there. They went into the lobby, and he turned to her again, kissing her once more. Harley hesitated to kiss him back. Now that she'd had a moment to breathe, she remembered why she shouldn't be doing this, why she'd made up those stupid rules in the first place that they were breaking every one of.

"I..." her eyes looked wide and guilty, "maybe we shouldn't..." She'd deliberately tried to seduce him, and the guilt made her blush, her white cheeks turning crimson.

"Hey it was your idea in the first place," he whispered, cradling her face in his hand. "But I won't make you do anything you don't want to." His lips brushed hers longingly, his expression kind and attentive. She still couldn't see the color behind the white lenses.

"It's not that I don't want to," she breathed. Her hand was still held in his, the other holding onto him by his shoulder.

"It's that we shouldn't," he whispered, nodding. He took a deep breath, flopping down on one of the couches still set up around the lobby, as if waiting for someone to come to the front desk. A cloud of dust arose when he hit the cushions. He pulled her down on top of him, smiling. Dick kissed her nose and wrapped his arms around her. "So what's your favorite color? Lemme guess. Is it red?" Dick grinned. "Bad question. Is your favorite food... Ice cream? No, I'll get a good question, I'll get it..." He sighed and dropped his head back against the arm of the couch. His arms were loosely around her waist. "Oh! Before all of this, where was your favorite place in the whole world?" Dick asked, smiling up at her.

"Um," she was a little taken aback, "whatever Ivy's place was at the time. It was alway filled with a ridiculous amount of plants, an' no matter what I'd done, I know she'd forgive me, patch me up, and lemme stay. And it meant neither of us were in Arkham." She was thoughtful for a moment. "I always missed it when I wasn't there, but whenever I was leaving, I was happy ta go." She was still for a moment, her hands absentmindedly playing with her jacket. She'd only leave to go back to Joker. "Anyway, what about you? What's the famous Nightwing's favorite place?"

"It's not so much one place as a lot, like you said," he closed his eyes behind his mask. "I grew up in a place called Haly's Circus until I was eleven. Traveled all over the country, by train, like the old days. I can still remember every detail; the smell of popcorn and the animals, the yellow lights in the tent, the sound of the crowd and the noise in the camps every night..." He sighed contentedly, and she could tell that he'd been transported there in his mind.

"Aww, that's so cute," she giggled. " _Please_ tell me there were elephants."

"Three, actually," he smiled. "And lions, a tiger, monkeys…" he smiled at her. "It was home. Haly's Circus," he repeated.

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my," she giggled.

"Ok, new question. What's something you _don't_ miss about the world?"

"Um, that's a tough one." Harley propped herself up. "I don't miss… voting." She grinned. "Political campaigns were so annoyin'."

Dick laughed out loud, shaking his head. "Of course. Can I tell you a secret? I never voted," he chuckled, smiling.

"Scandal!" She giggled. This is what she had wanted. She felt like she was talking to a friend, and the only rule they were breaking was because they were touching. Even though friendship wasn't what she was supposed to come out here to get, she didn't see why she couldn't do both. "So what don't _you_ miss?"

"I don't miss having a day job. When I was younger, I _liked_ being Nightwing. It's who I was. Batman always says that the face he wore in public was his true mask. The masks we wear now- well it's who we _really_ are. I hated having to wake up in the morning and take it off, put on my identity and walk around pretending to be a part of society. There's just something so much more freeing about being extraordinary," he smiled. "Your turn to ask a question."

"Okay, what's your favorite part about bein' Nightwing. Besides the _extraordinariness_ ," she taunted. He thought for a moment, biting his lip.

"The ladies," he decided, laughing. "The ladies love a man in a mask."

"Ha ha," she said drily, smacking his chest.

"The justice," he amended, still smiling. "It feels good to give back to the people and the city with everything that I have. I'd give my life for these people. And I'm more than happy to; being content with that is hugely freeing. What about you? What's your favorite part of being a moustache twirling, TV cartoon, true to the definition villain?" Dick grinned.

"The mustache," she laughed. "No, the fact that there are no rules. You can break them all. You can do whatever ya want, an' only the Bats'll tell you any different." She grinned.

"That's right. And I'm gonna let you in on another little secret- I don't think you're as bad as you _think_ you are," he smirked, biting his lip. "You like to play pretend. Deep down I think you're actually a decent person; maybe deep _deep_ down." Dick laughed, his arms tightening around her waist a bit. He shifted her where she lay on top of him so that she was closer to the back of the couch, snuggled between his strong chest and the musty cushions.

"You're going to need a microscope to keep looking," she mocked. "So what's your favorite part of the world how it is? Excluding the mask and the justice." She grinned.

"Now? It's quiet. Sometimes I hate the silence, but most of the time…" he trailed off, turning his head to the side. "It's peaceful. People are quietly living their lives in contentment in Gotham, undisturbed." Looking back at Harley, Dick brushed some of her hair out of her face. "You?"

"The stars." She smiled. "I may miss having constant power an' electricity, but I love the stars."

"So do I, but I have to say that the stars pale in comparison to the light in your eyes," he grinned. "I've never seen a color so blue. Blue is my favorite color, you know," Dick laughed, still smiling down at her. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure that's flirting. I could be wrong! But I think that's off limits. Besides," she grinned, "for all I know, your eyes are gross."

"Too bad you don't get to find out," he said quietly, and then glanced at the front doors to the lobby as rain started to fall. "And _you_ told me the perks of being a villain were rule breaking. Shouldn't you be the one breaking them instead of making them?" She put her lips near his ear.

"Aren't ya supposed to stop me from breakin' 'em?" she breathed. Dick closed his eyes, nosing his way closer to her ear as he smiled.

"Some rules are made to be broken."

"Some? I think you're breakin' just about all of 'em right now."

"You started it," Dick said again, holding her close. The air in the building was heavy with a humidity that the rain couldn't break, or maybe it was just the air between them.

" _Please_. I didn't start anything," she scoffed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "And if ya had proof, you'da already charged me."

"Come now, we're both above the law. As far as that's concerned, we're both criminals. A vigilante and a dangerous psychopath… sounds fun," he smiled, turning his head towards her. His lips brushed her forehead.

"If I recall, it was fun. And it was only supposed ta be a one time thing." She pushed his face away. "So stop being all smooth and junk."

"I can't just turn it off and on!" Dick laughed, yawning.

"And clearly you're turned on." She raised an eyebrow as she pursed her lips to keep from laughing. Dick hesitated.

"Do you want me to lie and say no?"

"Well we both know it'd be a lie. But you can try." She grinned.

"Then no. Your cute, two-toned hair and pretty blue eyes are not a turn on," he nodded matter-of-factly, biting his lip. Dick grinned.

"Eh, the lie was passing, but a C at best." She laughed, burying her face in the crook of his neck. He cleared his throat.

"Then let me try again. _Also_ not a turn on, exactly what you're doing right now," he laughed, but she could feel his heart beat faster in his chest under her hand.

"Ya know what's not a turn on?" Harley asked seriously, lifting her head up. "You bein' noticeably attracted to me and complimentin' me." She managed to keep a straight face until the very end before she started giggling.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he laughed, pulling her close with his arm around her back. Dick shook his head. "I should be getting back out on patrol…"

"No," she whined, resting her chin on his chest as she looked up at him and pouted. Dick smiled a little, looking down at her.

"I don't _want_ to, if it makes you feel any better," he said quietly.

"It doesn't," Harley assured him. She didn't want to go back to Arkham, back to being alone. Back to staring at a closed office door. She didn't move so that he could leave. "Ya know, I bet I could make ya stay," she mused. Dick smiled, glancing over the back of the couch again to look at the rain pouring down on the glass doors across the lobby.

"I don't doubt that. Doesn't change the fact that I should go."

"I know." She rolled over and straddled his waist, leaning over his chest. "But now it sounds like a challenge, and I'm _very_ competitive." She grinned.

"Oh come on," he laughed. " _Now._ I throw myself at you, and _now_ you act like this? Now it's a challenge to get out of here unscathed," Dick smiled up at her, making no effort to get up.

"Well now you're not throwin' yourself at me," she countered. "And it's not like I've changed my mind. We still _shouldn't_ be doin' this." She couldn't _believe_ she was doing this. She should just let him walk out the door, and they could remain friends like they'd agreed to. She could keep her word to Joker that she was just out here to gather intel. But she didn't want to. Maybe it was all the reasons she shouldn't be doing it that made her want it. He was right, she did enjoy breaking the rules, and there was nothing more off limits than this. "But," she trailed her lips along his jaw, "I've never been very good at staying outta trouble."

"You and me both, beautiful," he groaned, smiling as he closed his eyes. She felt his hand tighten on her waist ever so slightly, his hips pressing up as his back arched a bit.

"And you're right," she gently bit his ear, her hands sliding along his chest, "ladies do love a man in a mask."

"And believe me, guys have a weakness for the bad girls," Dick laughed, trailing his other hand up her leg slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Didn't ya have something ya wanted ta do?" She put her face right above his, her lips hovering less than an inch away from his. Grinning, Dick held her close. His hand trailed up her back, resting between her bare shoulder blades. He shook his head. "Well in that case." She kissed him, her hands coming up to cup his face. Dick smiled into her kiss, pulling her against his chest. The rain blew against the doors in torrents, casting the lobby in a gray shadow of darkness, even in the daylight. Trailing his hand up her leg, he pulled her weapon out of its holster and dropped it on the ground beside them. He unclipped her belt, and it slid away from her waist and off of the couch as well.

"It's cute how ya always disarm me first," Harley told him. "It makes me feel like a threat." She lifted the top of his skin tight t-shirt up and kissed along his waist.

"You _are_ a threat, that's why I shouldn't be doing this," he groaned, his back arching a bit. Dick hadn't tried hard enough to stop her, but he knew he didn't want to. It was back- the familiar exhilaration that doing something so _wrong_ brought. He licked his lips and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, dragging her up his torso to kiss her again. Her. _Harley Quinn_ , he finally acknowledged, and then pushed all thoughts of right or wrong out of his mind, pinching his eyes closed as he pulled her jacket off of her bare shoulders. Her kiss made the adrenaline surge through his system, the pure high that he got when they did this. Nothing could compete. His breathing spiked; his heart pounded in his chest.

Harley froze for a second when she remembered what he'd said to her earlier when she'd hit him. " _The only reasons you should need should be that he makes you happy, and he loves you back. That being said, I don't think you know what love is."_

 _Don't think about that now_ , she told herself. She didn't care about how long she'd sat around today trying to think of reasons it was okay to talk to him. Because _this_ very thing wouldn't happen. _All these rules, but you've never been good at not breaking rules_. She reached down and undid his utility belt, her breath shallow against his lips. All the reasons she knew she shouldn't be doing this were why she was doing it now: she was upset, she wanted to hurt the Joker, he was a hero, and she wanted _this._ She kissed him hungrily again, suddenly anxious and impatient. Dick responded in kind, one hand moving to the back of her head to hold her there in the kiss. He pushed her back so she straddled his lap as he sat up, and she lifted her arms for him to pull her top over her head, letting them fall around his neck as his hands trailed down her shoulders and continued down her sides. The heavy gloves he wore were coarse against her skin. A chill ran down her spine as one of his hands traced back up to her shoulder blades, suddenly pulling her body against his; while his other hand fell to her hip where his thumb hooked in her shorts. Dick's grip was tight on her skin as he kissed her fiercely. Harley could tell that he'd given up fighting her and anything else, and his desperation- his _need_ to have her- shocked her. His lips were so warm and forgiving against hers. She groaned, growing impatient, and yanked his suit top up. He helped her pull it off, and she threw it aside. Her hands explored his chest, feeling when he tensed. She kissed softly along the fading scratches on his shoulder from last time. Dick's head dropped back as he moaned and bit his lip to stifle the sound, his hips bucking against hers. He pulled her up to kiss him again, lifting her up with one hand to yank her shorts down with the other. Harley smiled against his lips, pushing him down against the cushions.

"Are ya sure ya wanna do this again, hero?" she murmured against his lips.

Dick nodded, his lips parting as they brushed hers. He didn't try to kiss her, but she could feel his anticipation in his breath against her lips, his hand trailing up the soft skin of her waist. His touch was light and longing, and he opened his eyes behind his mask. "Are you?" he whispered quietly, his other hand brushing her flyaway hair behind her ear.

"Absolutely not." She leaned down to kiss him quickly, her hands undoing his belt. "But that's what makes it fun," she breathed. Dick kissed her slowly, holding her face. His cheeks were flushed under his mask. Harley savored the feeling of him against her. She knew she was using him, that she was taking advantage of his desire, but she didn't care. She wanted to enjoy this, no matter how wrong it was. She smirked into the kiss as she slowly undid the button of his pants and pulled the zipper down. Dick took his lips away from hers and there was a desperate beat pause before he was kissing her neck, her shoulder- he tore her bra off and his hands explored her newly exposed skin, feeling her heartbeat in her chest. He bit her ear, gasping, his breath warm against her skin. Harley rested her forehead on his shoulder as she gasped for air, closing her eyes at the touch of his hands. She worked his pants out of the way, her hands moving up into his hair as she made herself comfortable on his lap again. Dick panted, holding her there against him, and the first seeds of doubt planted themselves in his head. He knew what was happening, and he didn't want to acknowledge it.

 _I won't let it get to that,_ he bit his lip. He turned his head and caught her lips in a kiss, one hand moving to her cheek. His lips lingered longer this time, savoring every moment of the kiss. Harley pulled away.

"Are ya sure I'm what you want?" She leaned her forehead against his, wishing she could see his eyes.

 _Damn, she's making this difficult,_ he thought in a panic, and then took a deep breath. "Yes." Dick's voice was decisive. He was sure he wanted her; he wasn't sure he needed her, or that he _should_ want her. But he knew that in that moment, there was nothing he wanted more. She leaned down and kissed him hard. Her hands tightened in his hair as she pressed herself against him. The Joker hadn't seemed like he wanted her recently, and she just wanted to remember what it felt like. Even if it was a lie, and even if it felt like it _wasn't._ His hands- one on her cheek and the other pressed against her back, his fingers spread and clinging to her- were gentle and careful with her as he held her. His lips were tender on hers; his kiss soft and inviting. It _felt_ like the truth. Dick's thumb traced along her cheek as he suddenly kissed her passionately, inhaling sharply as he did, his hand tightening on her back. Harley closed her eyes and sighed. The Joker was never this gentle, and her body was responding involuntarily. His sheer patience was driving her crazy; she just wanted more of him. Hooking her leg under him, she flipped them over. She grinned as he held himself above her.

"Well if ya want it, ya better come get it," she taunted, hooking her thumbs in her underwear and pulling them down.

Dick laughed, biting his lip. He leaned closer to her and kissed her ear gently, and his hands pulled her hips into his. "Now let me ask _you_ something. Do _you_ want it?" he breathed, biting her ear.

"Oh I want it," she smirked. " _Dick_." She ran her hands along his body and up to his face. "So are you gonna give it to me?"

"Say please," he grinned, his lips brushing hers. She laughed.

"I don't think so." She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his face down to hers. Dick moaned against her lips and surrendered, giving in to the thoughts he'd been fighting. They didn't make any difference anymore.


	14. The One Where They're Just Friends

It was colder. A chill hung in the dark air and Dick shivered, groggily opening his eyes. He couldn't see anything in the pitch blackness of the apartment complex lobby, and he was suddenly shocked into full alert by that fact. It was _dark._ He frantically searched for his watch on the coffee table beside the couch, his other hand pressing a button on his mask. He stifled a cry when it was the button for the thermal vision in his mask, not the night vision, and the lenses lit up with white light. Dick immediately turned it off, switching to the night vision and looking at his watch. _Four forty-five!?_ he thought in a panic, and when he tried to sit up was when he realized that she was still there.

 _Harley_.

He slowly lowered himself back down on the couch, exhaling quietly. She was curled up on his chest, her shoulders hunched against the chill, and her hand balled into a fist resting gently on his collarbone. Harley's legs were tangled between his. As he watched she shivered, her small lips frowning in her sleep. Dick smiled gently and reached over the edge of the couch, his hand closing on his t-shirt on the floor. He shook it out and draped it over her shoulders and then added her jacket on top of it, smiling when she relaxed. His hand brushed her messy pigtail away from her face, and he bit his lip.

"God damn it, Jason," he breathed. _He'd been right._

 _"Well don't do it if you don't want your heart broken because first, it might not succeed and second," he kicked his legs up on the table, "hope is written all over your little puppy dog face."_

Dick could already hear Jason laughing at him.

Harley was beautiful, if not in a conventional way, and he'd never known he could be more wrong about who a person was. She wasn't a killer, she was a victim of the Joker, same as the rest of them. His hand fell away from her hair, and he traced her lips with his thumb; her dark red and black makeup was smudged around her eyes, but nonetheless, she was breathtaking. Dick scoffed quietly, looking away.

 _Shit._

Harley let out a deep breath almost like a sigh and stretched her arm out across his chest. She frowned slightly and opened her eyes a crack. She gasped, her eyes flying open as she sat up, clutching his shirt to her chest.

"Oh, uh," she blushed, "hi."

"Hi," he laughed, stretching his arms as well. His neck hurt from the angle he had slept at. Dick relaxed again and smiled up at her. He was awake, sure enough, but he hadn't woken up enough to realize just what he'd done; slept through his entire patrol.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta fall asleep." She glanced out the window and tried to gauge the time.

"Neither did I," he said quietly, taking her hand and pulling her down to lay on his chest again. "It's nearly five o'clock in the morning," he told her, an arm around her waist.

"Five?!" She glanced up at his face. "I've been gone for too long. An' so have you," she added. She tried to feel panicked about it, but it was relaxing against his chest, listening to him breathe.

"I know. I'll probably be in big trouble when I get back," he whispered, closing his eyes. "But I don't care." Harley rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn'ta made you do that." She felt guilty about using him when he'd been trying to be nice to her.

"Don't be sorry," he smiled, and then turned his head to kiss her gently. Something was already different about it. Dick sighed and tucked his arm under his head when the kiss finished, watching Harley intently. "I said I don't care. It was worth every second, awake or asleep."

"I know, but even if we both wanted it, it happened for the wrong reasons, an' I'm sorry." She kissed his shoulder. "Thanks for doin' it even though I was a schmuck about everything." Dick laughed and stroked her cheek.

"We should probably go," he sighed, sounding sadder this time, but he smiled instead. He still didn't move.

"Jeez don't rush around so much. You'll hurt yourself." She grinned, cuddling closer to his body heat.

"We could just stay here," he agreed, relaxing into the couch. "Do you mind me asking why your hair is like that?" He inquired conversationally.

"Oh," she grabbed a pigtail nervously, her white cheeks coloring pink, "that. The same vat a chemicals that made Mistah J how he is. So colorful hair an' bleached skin it is."

"Don't worry, I like it," Dick smiled, his fingers sifting through her scarlet pigtail in her hand until their fingers laced together. His other hand was under his head, the angle making the muscles in his arm flex in the most annoyingly attractive way. Dick watched her for a moment longer before looking away, biting his lip anxiously. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but something was on his mind. His jet black hair fell in tangled waves to his shoulders in the dark, his mask over his eyes the same hollow, foreboding color.

"What?" She sat up a little. "What was that look?"

"Huh?" Dick turned his head back to her, smiling once again. It was as if he was always smiling, never upset or angry; if he was, she was sure he'd hide it as he'd done just then, his face relaxing and that smile spreading across his lips. "What look?"

"The whole anxious, look away, bite your lip not in the good 'fuck me' way but in the 'I'm worrying' way look. That one."

"It was nothing. Just thinking of my next shift, that's all. I'll be on the city patrol in Downtown. It won't be as fun as this one," he smiled again, stroking her cheek. Something had definitely changed in his expression, and she didn't need to see his eyes to be able to tell.

"Well that was your worst lie yet," she told him. "Not even remotely convincing." She nudged him playfully with her shoulder.

"Right, is this one of those 'can't kid a kidder' things?" he asked, laughing quietly.

"No it's one of those psychiatrist trained ta spot lying clients things," she told him honestly, shrugging. "But I won't make ya tell me if you're gonna be a _dick_ about it," she giggled. He rolled his eyes.

"Ha, ha, like my brothers haven't used _that_ one a thousand times," he said dryly, grinning.

"Sorry but I think my jokes are rich-ard than theirs." She giggled.

"Don't make me regret telling you my name," he warned. "And I'm sorry, but I really should go." Dick sat up carefully, taking his shirt away from her shoulders and pulling it on. He set Harley carefully on the couch and rummaged around on the floor for the rest of his clothes, hastily getting dressed.

"And I'm the one who got in trouble for lovin' and leavin' last time," she teased, digging under the couch for her bra.

"I know, I know, I wish I could stay, I just can't. Oddly enough, I would if I could." Dick smiled, looking around. "It'd be fun to build a place in an abandoned apartment." He thought for a moment. "Like a fort."

"Well now ya made me wanna build a fort." She pulled her shorts back on. "Thanks a lot."

"Next time," he promised, strapping his weapons to his leg and pulling his gloves on.

"Who says I have to wait for you?" she asked, shrugging her jacket on. "Or that there will be a next time?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume-" he bit his lip, finishing tying his boots. "I guess not then." He hoped she couldn't see the tinge of sadness in his face as he smiled. She laughed.

"Jeez, it's not assuming, I'm just bein' an ass." She winked before grabbing her gun and reholstering it. She'd think about the consequences of it later. Dick ran his hands through his hair before tying it loosely in a bun on the back of his head. He waited patiently as Harley put her shoes on and then they made their way out into the dark street; Dick smiled as he looked up at the stars.

"See you in a few days," he said, and then kissed her cheek. He smiled, backing away a bit.

"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya. I'm gonna go home and nap." She grinned, waving. Dick laughed and waved back, before taking off into the night and turning his comm back on. He skidded to a stop in shock, a cold feeling washing over him as he heard his own voice coming over the comms.

"...good, we'll be in soon. Nightwing, out," the voice said, and Dick covered his mouth.

Damian had always had a good ear and a wicked tongue for mimicry, and hearing the boy imitate him hadn't been what had sent Dick into a panic. As soon as Batman's comm went dead, Damian returned to his own voice.

"I don't care _what_ you were doing, Nightwing, don't you _ever_ do that again. Don't make me do that again," he said, deadly quiet. He sounded shockingly like a younger version of his father.

"I'm sorry, Damian," Dick said quietly, breaking into a run.

"It's Robin," he snapped. "Father's stated that shift change is happening early. He's already at Wayne Tower. I've crossed the bridge into Midtown. Get your ass moving."

The line went silent. Dick bit his lip. He'd disappeared for a good ten hours, at least; probably more. _That was a bad idea. Again._ It was stupid, reckless, dangerous, and forbidden, he knew.

He also knew that he'd give anything to do it again.

 _Harley Quinn_ , he thought. _Now there's a name I never thought would be so endearing._

Dick knew Jason was right. He always fell too fast and ended up landing too hard- usually breaking his heart in the process. He _knew_ he had a bad habit. The tough thing about habits, though, was breaking them; Dick couldn't help the giddy feeling in his gut at the thought that in four more days, he'd get to see her again. He crossed the river and got on his bike, speeding towards the center of Midtown; towards Wayne Tower. The morning sound-off had begun in his ear, each hero giving an update on their location.

"Nightwing, heading to Downtown for patrol," Dick chimed in.

"Batman, on break," Bruce said calmly to finish the list, and then took his comm out of his ear. "Now _focus_ , Selina," he told her patiently. As soon as he'd returned to the tower, they'd begun working on meditating, trying to control Selina's anger. It had been her idea, but so far she didn't seem too keen to learn. Damian had stolen a few bottles of antidepressants from a pharmacy on his last supply run, and so far, they seemed to be working; she fidgeted constantly and wouldn't keep her eyes closed. It had only been ten minutes and Bruce was nearing the end of his rope. He wasn't about to give up yet.

"I'm trying," she promised, pinching her eyes closed. Bruce took a deep breath in front of her, and Selina peeked one eye open, her lips twisting into a pout. Stephanie had given her some makeup that she'd found as well, and Selina couldn't have been happier. Her eyes were rimmed in smoky black and her lips were cherry red; it made her feel beautiful, and yet Bruce had said nothing. She'd even tied her hair up in a scarf to keep her bangs away from her face. She opened both eyes, her shoulders slumping. Bruce sat across from her, his legs crossed and his hands relaxed on his knees, his face placid and calm as a lake in the still of the evening. Selina smiled a little, her eyes trailing from his graying hairline to his broad shoulders, his wide chest; she could see his abs under the fitted black tank top that he wore, and she smiled as she continued down.

"Close your eyes and sit up straight," he commanded calmly. Selina huffed and closed her eyes again.

"How did you even know-"

"-quiet," he whispered. "Listen to my breathing."

Selina smiled and straightened her back, matching her breathing to his, her hands on her knees. _This is boring._ She huffed quietly, peeking one eye open again. He opened his eyes to stare her down until she closed it again.

"Concentrate," he told her.

"I'm trying," Selina whined, her shoulders slumping. " _You_ keep your eyes closed," she muttered.

"Selina," he sighed, his breathing still perfectly even. "This was your idea, remember?"

"Yeah, well, I pictured it more x-rated than this," she muttered under her breath and then sighed. "Shh. I'm trying to concentrate." He sat perfectly still and calm. His breathing never faltered, and he waited patiently. Selina pursed her lips, peeking through her lashes at him. She silently and effortlessly slipped her tank top over her head, tossing it aside and quickly resuming her position when it landed with a soft _flump_ on the bed. Slowing her breathing, she could actually feel herself relaxing. Bruce opened his eyes at the noise.

"What are you doing?"

"I got hot," she snapped, her lips twisting down again. "Now shut up." He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, closing his eyes again. For a full minute, Selina sat perfectly poised, her back rigid and her abs tight as she breathed slower and slower, matching Bruce's. He could pinpoint the exact moment when the panic set in, the panic that he'd leave her again in twenty-four hours; when Selina took a deep breath and blew it back out through her lips loudly. She continued to do it, her thumb fidgeting with her wedding band around her ring finger.

"You lost focus," he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. Her eyes flew open, her lips pressed together as she resisted the urge to scream in frustration. He was sitting as still as he had been when they began, and his resolve was infuriating. She took a deep breath and let it out through her nose slowly, closing her eyes again. Her lips twisted up in a smirk and she made a purring noise. "Selina," he warned. He opened his eyes, his mouth set seriously. She sat calm and poised across from him, her face serene, not a hint of emotion on it. He closed his eyes again. Bruce jumped when she purred right next to his ear. Her new speed was irritating to say the least, but when she used it like this, it was insufferable. As soon as he'd opened his eyes she'd once again returned to her meditative position, her face calm and focused, her eyes closed.

"Do I need to leave, so you can focus?" he asked. She didn't respond at first, and then shook her head slowly. He gave her one final warning look before closing his eyes. The room fell silent again. He listened to every noise in the room and outside of it; aware of everything that went on even with his eyes closed. Selina bit her tongue, quietly untying the scarf holding her bangs back. She tucked it into her lap and was quiet for a while. The silence was peaceful and calm- until Bruce cried out when he was suddenly thrown backwards. Selina had already wrapped the scarf that had been in her hair around his eyes, and she deftly tightened the knot as his back hit the floor. Bruce could feel her sitting on his waist, his arms pinned under her knees.

"Keep your eyes closed, Sweetheart, and focus," she whispered against his lips. Her hands trailed down his muscular chest, her fingernails clawing him all the way. "Focus on how _this_ feels," Selina giggled, slipping her hand down his pants.

"Selina." He struggled to free his arms then grabbed her hand. "You wanted me to teach you how to control your emotions."

"I wanted you to teach me like the teacher in a porno, professor," she giggled against his lips, her fingernails digging into his skin just below his waistband.

"That's not how meditation works." He grabbed her face, making her look at him. "I'm going to have to find someone else to teach you, aren't I?"

"I can control myself," she insisted. "When I _want_ to." Selina bit his chin, kissing down his throat, her hand creeping further down his pants, straining against his hand around her wrist. He took his hand away from her face to attempt to untie the blindfold.

"You _wanted_ to learn control, and are obviously not in control." He finally managed to free his eyes.

"I'm perfectly in control," she snapped, blushing. Her fingernails bit into the skin under his boxers, and she stared him in the eyes.

"Hey." He lifted her chin up. "It's nothing I can't handle, but that's not the point. You wanted to learn to control." He kissed her forehead. "I love you, but I want you to be happy. You're not thinking clearly right now, and that was what this exercise was trying to stop." Selina watched him, moving her face away from his hand.

"I know," she finally said, sitting up. She looked away, pulling her knees to her chest. "I just miss you."

"I miss you too." He pulled her back over to him, wrapping his arms around her. "And I'm sorry, I wish I could be here for you more." He kissed her cheek. "I'll find someone else to teach you meditation, so we can still spend my breaks however you want."

"Ok," she curled up in his arms sadly. "I just… I want to be better for you. There's nothing like looking up and…" she looked up at him, touching his face. "Seeing someone you don't deserve look at you with such _love_ in their eyes. And there's nothing like feeling so inferior, standing next to someone so important. I have to be better for you, but I just-" she looked down again, resting her chin on her knees- "I try."

"Hey," he cradled her against him, "don't try and change for me. You're perfect. Even if you don't see yourself as important, I know you are." He stroked her hair. "Just like I know that that makeup may look beautiful on you, you're just as stunning without it. And just like I know you're one of the strongest women I've ever met." He rested his forehead against hers. "The only reason you have to look up to me is because I'm so tall." Selina laughed and closed her eyes, stroking his cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her nose and scooped her up in his arms as he stood. "Now I need you to focus. Concentrate _really_ hard… to figure out what you want to do for the rest of my break."

"I…" she held his face, looking into his eyes. "I want to learn to meditate, Bruce. Control my- whatever-" Selina took a deep breath. "I mean, I _want_ to fool around, but I don't want to hurt you. If I bit you again, and you turned..." she trailed off, her breathing spiking as she started to panic. "Bruce, I can't."

"You're not Infected remember? But it's okay to be scared." He set her down on the bed and laid beside her. "I'm willing to do whatever you want to, but I still think I'm going to have to find you a better teacher."

"I know. I can't focus with you around," she smiled, hitting his chest. Selina moved closer to him. "I'm sorry. I really did try," she whispered, playing with the collar of his tank top. Her head was propped up in her hand. Selina smoothed some of his chest hair and then traced a scar along his collarbone. She smiled. Her hand had been the one to put it there, years ago; she'd practically tried to rip out his throat. She couldn't remember why anymore. She barely remembered that they'd been enemies, it had been so long.

"I know. You always try. I'm just not sure how to teach you," he admitted. "You're different from all of the boys. Very different reactions." He grinned. Selina laughed quietly, smiling up at him.

"You've got red on your lips," she whispered, tracing a thumb over them to remove the lipstick. "How do you do it? I'm sad. I want to be happy, and I'm sad. But you make me so happy. How?"

"Nope," he shook his head. "It's a secret passed down from butlers on a man's wedding night for generations. I can't tell you." Selina laughed, dropping her head against his chest.

"Oh Bruce," she smiled, closing her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept. "And you never show this side of yourself to anyone but me. You really know how to make a girl feel special," she whispered.

"That's the goal." He kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her.

"You know, I think this is the first time you've relaxed in days," she commented, looking up at him as she played with the collar of his tank top again.

"Well I haven't been alone with you in days," he reminded her.

"I know. And now we can-" she was cut off when his comm beeped on the bedside table. Selina smiled, urging him to pick it up, but as soon as he turned away to grab it, her face fell. Bruce pressed it into his ear as Selina buried her face in his chest, closing her eyes.

"Go," he acknowledged gruffly, stroking Selina's hair. Commissioner Gordon cleared his throat.

"A couple of officers have stopped Poison Ivy on the bridge from Uptown. She's insisting that we direct orders to you to let her through, and she's demanding- sorry, _settling_ for Red Hood?" he said unsurely. Bruce sighed.

"Tell her to wait. I'll inform Red Hood." He switched his comm, signaling Jason. It took a few seconds.

"What?!" Jason demanded, smashing his face back in the pillow.

"Poison Ivy is at the Arkham bridge," Bruce told him.

"No." Jason lifted his head up. "No! I'm on break! Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm busy."

"Bullshit."

"Orders, Jason," Bruce warned, turning his comm back off.

"And this is why I hate when our break days line up," Jason muttered and dropped his face back into the pillows. After a second, he groaned and pushed himself up. He'd just been able to fall asleep, and he yawned as he gathered his things up. Once he'd pulled his jacket on, he picked his Red Hood helmet up and winced. "I need to wash this out," he grumbled as he put it on. He stretched as he walked through the halls. He pounded the elevator button and switched his comm feed.

"Red Hood, heading out to the Uptown bridge," he updated the city patrol.

"Good. Let me know- wait what? Why? You're on break, Red Hood-" Nightwing responded.

"Yeah, it turns out little miss flower pot wants to take another tour of the city," he grumbled as he waited for the elevator to start heading down. Barbara sprinted into the elevator just before the door closed.

"Oh. Keep her on a tight leash, Jay, it's on you if she gets into trouble. And we need to talk when I get back," he told him before the line went dead. Barbara pushed the button for the labs and she glanced up at Jason.

"Hey," she yawned. "Good luck."

"I miss sleep," he whined. "I miss it so much."

"Sorry, Sweetie," she shrugged. "Don't we all."

"Yeah. So how've you been?" He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Long time no see."

"Been busy. And sad," she said thoughtfully. "I miss you guys."

"We miss you too," he yawned. "So why have you been holed up in your lab avoiding everyone… and sad?"

"Don't worry about it." Barbara smiled up at him. "But thank you for giving a shit. You gotta hide those feelings to keep up your bad boy routine, don't you?" She laughed, and then kissed the cheek of his mask. "Your stop. Have fun with Poison Ivy," she gestured to the elevator doors as they opened, and she leaned back against the elevator wall, smiling.

"I won't," he assured her, stepping off. He paused, his hand on the doors. "Dick doesn't have a bad boy routine, at all. He doesn't know when he's being an ass." He shrugged empathetically, releasing the doors. Barbara smiled to herself as they closed, and Jason crossed the lobby to the doors. He went into the parking garage, getting lazily onto his bike by the door. He groaned in frustration as he started it and backed out of the stall, and then sped tiredly through Midtown.

The sun was about to start rising as he pulled his motorcycle to a stop in front of the bridge. All the guards had their guns pointed at Poison Ivy where she stood on the other side with her arms crossed and an impatient look on her face.

"Okay guys," Jason strode forward, "let her through."

"Excuse me?" one of the men asked, his finger hovering near the trigger. Jason put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have two options here," he told the man, leaning over him. "Either let her pass peacefully, or she will poison everyone here before you can pull that trigger." He straightened back up and called, "Let's go, Paisley."

Ivy strode across the bridge as the guards followed her with their guns. Jason didn't wait for her, heading back to his bike.

"Why are we letting her into Gotham with _that_ one?" one of the guards asked. Jason ignored him; he was used to the general mistrust.

"So where are we going, Itchy Leaf?" he asked as he got back on. She climbed on behind him.

"Saint Mary's Park, bonehead."

"Got it." At least they were staying in Midtown for now. He spun the bike around and took off towards the park. "So did you just decide to ruin my one day off?"

"No, but that's a big plus if it's true," she laughed.

"You could at least feel a little guilty," he suggested.

"Wait, let me see." She paused. "Nope, not even a little bit."

"Well you don't have to be a thistle," he muttered. She smacked him on the shoulder before wrapping her arm back around his waist.

"Don't start with the name thing."

"Too late." He turned back to smirk at her before remembering she couldn't see and turning back around feeling like an idiot. "So what's with the getup?" She was wearing a long green tank top with a large recycling symbol on it over black leggings and boots.

"I'm trying to blend in."

"Well you're not succeeding," he told her as he pulled over at the park entrance. He got off and turned to her. "I mean, do you own anything that isn't green?"

"I happen to like this top," she snapped. "And I'm being critiqued by a man with a bat on his chest." She got off the bike and started walking into the park.

"I'm just asking," he defended as he followed her. "And what's with the Danny Phantom green eyes and lips?"

"It makes suppressing my… green skin easier," she stated simply.

"Oh got it. And I'm not a moron, I know what chlorophyll is."

"The not being a moron thing is up for debate." She shrugged.

"So is that why you prefer a toxic kiss?"

"What?" She stopped and turned to him.

"It's easier through the lips?" She blinked in surprise at how easily he'd come to that conclusion.

"Um, yes." She turned and started walking. "Why so interested in my lips?" she teased, smirking over her shoulder at him.

"I make sure to educate myself on anything that could go True Blood on me without warning," he laughed. "But I guess that must be why your eyes are so killer." Ivy fought not to smile. She'd almost forgotten how good he was at that.

"You're think you're so cute."

"I'm adorable," he corrected. "So what are we doing here?"

"Who says I didn't want to get you alone?" she asked in an inviting voice, flicking her hair over her shoulder and somehow making the simple movement look elegant. _Oh good, we're doing this again_ , he internally groaned.

"My mother told me not to follow threatening strangers into strange places."

"Am I _threatening_?" She looked back at him and swung her hips.

 _Absolutely_.

"Well you haven't offered me candy yet, so I'm a little disappointed in your criminal skills. I personally always carry some Starburst with me in case of diabolical necessity." She stopped.

"You're such an idiot." She shook her head before sitting down on the grass. He stared at her in confusion as she laid down and closed her eyes.

"Okay, you got me, I have _no_ idea what you're doing." He glanced around the park. They were a good twenty feet from the cement path.

"I'm _trying_ to enjoy the sunrise surrounded by nature, but a certain numbskull keeps talking." He stared at her for a second.

"You're a little strange, you know that right?" She opened an eye to glare at him. He walked a few feet away and dropped down in front of a tree. He crossed his legs and leaned back against it.

Ivy sighed. Arkham was a concrete jungle, and she'd missed this. She ran her hand through the unkempt grass. The great thing about the Infection is the humans stopped encroaching upon nature.

After a few minutes, Jason started drifting off. _Shit, okay no. Focus_. He blinked his eyes open. He took a deep breath and watched Ivy. Her face was relaxed and her eyes closed, she almost looked like she was sleeping. Her lips parted as she breathed in, and her chest rose. _Okay focus, but not on that_.

She waited for him to say something, but he remained quiet. She peeked her eyes open and glanced at him. He was leaning against a tree, the chin of his Red Hood helmet tucked against his chest. She closed her eyes as she wondered what he was thinking.

He concentrated on his breathing as he waited for sunrise. Streaks of light were just appearing over the trees. Every now and again her lips would twitch, and his eyes followed the movement.

 _That stupid freaking helmet. What are you even doing?_ Ivy's lips twitched in annoyance. She couldn't focus with him sitting over there. He hadn't moved or done anything, and she just wanted him to make a stupid comment or stretch so she could have any idea as to what he was doing. She yawned and arched her back, catching herself hoping he was watching. _Stop it. This is exactly what you warned Harley about._ She sat up.

"Did you fall asleep over there? Or were you petrified?"

"No, but nice Harry Potter reference," he said calmly. She clenched her teeth. He was so perfectly indifferent. "So what's next?"

"I was thinking…" she mused, "I want to go see how everyone around here lives. That doesn't make your job difficult does it?" she asked sweetly.

 _Her around hundreds of people… the possibilities_ , he internally winced. _Then again, you won't be alone with her._

"Nope. No problem," he said cheerily. Jason hopped up and offered her his hand. She took it, and he pulled her up. He tensed, their chests inches apart. He swallowed and stepped back as she brushed herself off. She glared at the back of his helmet when he turned away. "A lot more fun than a sunrise anyway."

"I don't need your approval, pea brain," she snapped as they started walking back out of the park. He turned toward her.

"Pea brain?" She could hear the amusement in his voice. "As in _peas_? As in what you grow?"

"No, stop talking," she warned.

"Sorry I can't hear you." He tapped the side of his mask. "Cauliflower ears."

"That was stupid," Ivy muttered, rolling her eyes. "And that's a serious condition."

"I don't know, I thought it was radish."

"Yay, more vegetable humor," she said drily. They made it back to the bike, and he gestured grandly at it.

"Lettuce continue on." She smiled a little before turning away and getting on the bike.

"Was that a smile?"

"No."

"Not even a little one?"

" _No_."

"Okay, okay," he got on in front of her. "I don't want to _nettle_ you about it."

"I hate you so much."

"I know." He started the bike back up. "But doesn't it just make this trip _so_ much more enjoyable?"

"Why are you so infuriating?" Ivy asked once they started moving.

"Why are you here?" he countered.

"Have you tried living in Arkham City?" she snapped. "Try it then get back to me on that question."

"If you hate it so much, why do you live there?" She stared at the back of his head. "Well if you weren't so bent on hating everyone here, you'd be an asset."

"Oh yeah," she scoffed, "living a life of luxury as the Official Gotham Gardner. No thanks. I think I'll just let the Infection kill you all off."

"Ha!" Jason cried triumphantly, "I thought you'd be immune. And aren't humans a little important? Aren't we the main producers of a little thing called carbon dioxide? You know, the stuff plants need."

"There are plenty of other animals that breathe out carbon dioxide."

"Yeah but you don't want _everyone_ dead."

"I don't really think I'd mind."

"Even me?" he joked.

"If I could Infect you myself, I would," she snapped.

"Aw, you don't mean that." He slowed down and parked the bike on a street corner.

"I really do."

"Then this is going to be a very morbid tour of all your future murder victims," he said as he got off the bike. Ivy glared at him as she followed. The street was mostly empty. There was an old man who'd fallen asleep in a rocking chair on his porch, a woman walked across the street to a neighbor's house, and a few kids played at the end of the block.

"Where is everyone?"

"Avoiding you, the lucky bastards." She got the feeling he was smirking. "Nah, they're working." He shrugged. Ivy looked at the houses. She didn't know why she'd imagined people would just be everywhere, talking and enjoying themselves. Of course they had to work.

"Red Hood!" a voice cried from the end of the street. A little girl in a bright blue dress pelted toward Jason, and he swung her up when she nearly collided into him.

"Whoa!" He laughed. "Hey there Caty."

"Did you come to play with us again?"

"Ah, I can't. I'm working." Caty pouted. "Hey, don't be like that. I'll bring Nightwing around sometime again, and you can be Batman again. Promise." He slipped her a couple Starbursts, and she giggled. She held her pinkie up. He hooked his pinkie around it. "Pinkie promise," he corrected.

Ivy watched their interaction curiously. She never imagined he'd be kind and even… gentle with kids. Caty glanced over at her. She hid in Jason's shoulder.

"Who's that?"

"That's my friend, Ivy," he told her.

"Why are her eyes and lips green?"

"You know, I asked her the same thing. I just think she really likes that color."

"Is it your favorite color?" she asked Ivy, her hands twisting in her blue dress. Ivy smiled gently at her.

"It is. What's yours?"

"Blue."

"What?" Jason cried. "Like Nightwing." He tickled her stomach. "How could you do that to me?" Caty giggled and squirmed out of his arms. She approached Ivy hesitantly. Lizzy stepped out of the group of kids watching.

"Caty! Stay away from her," she called. Caty glanced between Ivy and Lizzy.

"Why?"

"Because I've done some bad things," Ivy said gently.

"Why?"

"Um, because I really like plants."

Caty beamed. "Me too!" She grabbed Ivy's shirt and pulled her along. Ivy blinked in surprise as she was dragged along. Caty led her to a patch of dirt in front of her house. "This is my strawberry patch." She grinned, sitting back on her heels and patting the dirt. "They're gonna grow really big. Just wait." Ivy watched her for a second. She knelt down and put her hand next to Caty's. A sprout of green poked up in front of their hands. Caty gasped and looked up at Ivy.

Ivy smiled at her, and Caty watched in fascination as her garden bloomed in front of her.

"How'd you do that?" she breathed.

"I asked nicely." Caty grabbed a large red strawberry and took a bite. She grinned, the juice dribbling down her chin.

"Lizzy!" she cried, plucking another berry and running it over to her sister. "You have to eat one!" Lizzy glared at Ivy suspiciously before taking it from her sister's outstretched hand and taking a bite.

"I thought you were going to poison her for a second," Jason commented. Ivy glanced up at him, not realizing he'd been standing beside her. Caty pulled at her arm.

"Can you do that again? Are you like a superhero? Can you teach me? I wanna learn how to do that!"

"It's really not fun to learn," Ivy told her gently. A few faces were watching her distrustfully out of their windows. "I really should be going, but it was really nice to meet you."

"Aw!" Caty whined. "Can you bring her back too?" she asked Jason.

"Maybe." Ivy stood up beside him. "We need to keep going though." She waved vigorously at them as they walked away.

"That was a low blow," Ivy muttered.

"I'll admit that I read your file," he shrugged. "Something about a soft spot for kids."

"You really have no shame."

"I'm not the one with the ability to save thousands but uses her ability as a party trick," he countered.

"You really are a dimwit." She shook her head.

"I won't argue with you there, Thorny Rose."

"Why did it have to be you?" She spun on him. "Why did you have to be the one that followed me around?"

"We decided everyone wouldn't look very threatening wearing gas masks. I, however, look rather dashing."

She made a frustrated noise. "Is that all you know how to do? Make stupid comments and hit on girls?"

"Pretty much sums me up," he agreed. "You forgot the unforgettable good looks, but I'll give you a pass on that one."

"And now I remember why I won't care if you all die," she snapped.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to come here on my day off," he retorted. "I'm a little sleep deprived."

"Oh no! The world is ending," she cried. "Red Hood couldn't take his nap."

"At least-" he cut off at when his comm sounded.

"I spotted a flare," Nightwing told him, "I'm in Midtown, are you anywhere near the scene?"

Jason spun around, looking at the sky. He spotted the fading trail of the flare- a precaution they'd passed out the civilians- back the way they'd come from. "Shit," he swore, taking off running and leaving Ivy behind. "Nearby," he updated over comm, "I'll keep you posted." He skidded to a stop on the street they'd left just a few minutes ago.

He took a deep breath as he walked forward and assessed the scene. Everyone was toward the edges of the street, fleeing into houses and double locking the doors behind them. No outliers, all the kids were with an adult, and everyone would be out of the way in time. He reached for his holster as he focused in on the threat, continuing steadily toward the Infected.

The old man who'd been sleeping on the porch was crouched in the street over a mangled body, blood splattered across his face and over the pavement. _Probably sunstroke_ , Jason reasoned, but he swallowed hard. His hand reached his gun as the zombie glanced up. It cocked its head at Jason- approaching fresh meat. As his hand wrapped around the grip of his gun, Jason could hear the rumble of a vehicle; most likely the medical unit dispatched at the sign of a flare. He pulled the gun out, trying to make the decision between tranqs or live rounds. He glanced over at the houses and the faces peering nervously through the curtains. _Tranqs it is_.

He moved to eject the clip, turning back to the zombie. His eyes narrowed at the signs: tensed muscles, runner's crouch, head attentively cocked in his direction, mouth turned down in a snarl as blood dripped from its lips. Jason ejected the clip, his hand reaching into his belt for the magazine of tranq rounds as the zombie lunged. He hit the magazine into place as the zombie's abrupt burst of speed carried it half of the way to him in the blink of an eye. One shot straight between the eyes, and he stepped aside, the Infected's hands clawing at his jacket as it lunged past. The old man stumbled a few steps and collapsed to the pavement.

Jason sighed and bent down to pick up the clip he'd dropped. The ambulance roared around the corner, screeching to a stop as men poured out. Jason didn't pay them any attention. He took a step toward the bloodied figure before he froze. Even soaked in blood and torn apart, he recognized the small form and her bright blue dress. He turned back and saw Ivy standing at the end of the street, paralyzed as she stared at Caty's body.

The medics rushed around to get everything cleaned up; one of them quietly making sure Caty wouldn't turn. People hesitantly opened their doors and flocked on the sidewalks as their neighbors poured in from all around to watch the scene. Jason could hear people frantically checking on their families. He reholstered his gun with a sigh and walked toward Ivy.

"Where is my daughter?!" Jason tuned as a woman screamed. He could see Lizzy clinging to the lady's waist as she frantically searched the crowd. "Where is she? Where's Caty?!"

Jason stepped over to intercept her before she could get near enough to the street. "Ma'am. I'm sorry. You need to calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down! Find my daughter," she demanded. Jason was glad for his mask. There was no look he could have given her to express how sorry he was.

"Ma'am… I'm sorry." The woman seemed to crumple back.

"No," she gasped, clutching onto Lizzy. "No!" She glanced around frantically. "It was her!" the woman screamed, pointing behind Jason. He turned and saw Ivy still frozen in place. "It must have been her!" Jason stopped her when she tried to rush Ivy.

"It's not her fault," he said calmly. "This is no one's fault." He paused when she saw who the medics were covering with a body bag.

"No! My little girl," the woman sobbed. Lizzy stood stock still beside her mother, blood on her hands and tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry," Jason told the woman quietly.

"It's your fault!" she screamed at Ivy.

"You cannot blame her," Jason snapped. "No one is to blame here."

"You and everyone from Arkham should should kill yourselves before you kill the rest of us!"

"Enough," he ordered quietly. He nodded to a GCPD officer to take the hysterical woman and stopped a medic. "Make sure to thoroughly clean the blood off of the sister." He walked over to Ivy and grabbed her arm, pulling her along. "Cleanup is underway, but I need to get Poison Ivy out of the city. You may need to come supervise," he told Nightwing before flicking his comm back off. Ivy stared at the bag Caty was in as Jason pulled her back to the bike.

"Still think you want the Infection to kill everyone?" he asked her seriously, and she looked up at him. He was staring straight ahead as he led her to the bike, and she fixed her eyes on the ground.


	15. The One With Deadshot

The sun was well into the clear sky when Harley made her way through Arkham City once again. Her time with Nightwing had felt like a dream; like she'd stepped out of reality and into his arms, and as she walked through the soiled streets lined with broken windows and crumbling buildings, she had suddenly snapped back to reality. Looking back on the dream she couldn't help but feel giddy, yet separated from it somehow, like it had been just that- a fiction in her head and nothing more, nothing tangible, even if she _could_ still feel his kiss on her lips and his hands on her skin.

 _It's not_ really _cheatin' on Mistah J_ , she tried to convince herself. _It's just friendship… an' sex_. She winced. That was exactly cheating, but she she still wanted to do it again. She promised herself that Joker would still come first as the Warden Tower came into view. If he continued to be distracted on Nightwing's patrol days, then it would be okay to go. She'd told him she was going to go out and try and get intel from the Bats. She'd just gotten a little sidetracked.

She hurried up to the front door and had a momentary panic that he'd realize she was still wearing the same clothes before she remembered that he'd been locked in his office when she'd gotten ready and left. _Your guilty conscience is making you paranoid, Harls_ , she scolded herself as she got into the elevator. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek as it started its clattering ascent to the top. She fidgeted her thumbs together before clasping her arms behind her back then she quickly let them fall to her side. It jerked to a stop, and she lifted the cage door up, peering out.

"Harley!?" Joker shouted immediately, whirling around the corner from his office. The tails of his coat whipped around his knees, and he advanced on her, stopping nose to nose, his emerald eyes wide with fury and rimmed in dark shadows. "Where the _hell_ have you been all night?!" he snapped, his usually ghoulishly cheery face distorted in anger. She flinched back into the elevator.

"I-um I went to Red's," she stuttered. "I just- I decided to stay there for the night."

He'd stepped forward when she'd stepped back, and he grabbed her face to make her look at him, his nostrils flaring as he grinned, his teeth grit together. "Don't _lie_ to me," he snapped, shaking her face. "Where were you!?"

"I'm not!" she cried. "Where else would I go?!"

"Liar!" he cried, releasing her- but only long enough to backhand her across the face. Her head had barely snapped to the side before he'd grabbed her by her cheeks again, slamming her against the wall of the elevator. "Where were you?!" Joker demanded, his green hair falling around his equally green eyes in a wild mess.

"I was in Uptown!" she wailed, pinching her eyes closed. "In one of the abandoned apartment buildings."

"And _why_ were you there?" he asked, still not releasing her. His fingers dug into her jaw, her head pressed against the cold metal of the elevator. She whimpered, her body flinching.

"I was bored," she breathed, "so I kept getting in your way. I just went ta entertain myself, and let ya work in peace. I'm sorry, Puddin. I feel asleep. I didn't mean to. I swear," she pleaded.

He rolled his eyes, his face falling into an irritated frown. "Don't call me _Puddin'_ ," Joker sighed, dropping her as he turned around and walked back out of the elevator, listlessly smoothing his hair back. "You shouldn't go out there. It's dangerous. You don't know what sorts of nasty creatures or people you'll come up against, and what would I have done if you had never come back? You had me worried sick," he hissed through his teeth, his back still to her. Harley took a few shuddering breaths.

"I'm sorry Mistah J. I really am." She stepped hesitantly away from the wall. "It won't happen again."

"You should be. I couldn't focus. I didn't know where you'd gone, or when you'd come back-" he whirled on her again, grabbing one of her pigtails. "Do you have _any_ idea what that put me through?!" he shouted, suddenly angry again.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered as he pulled at her hair. "I won't do it again. I'm sorry," she repeated. His jaw tightened and he yanked her hair to make her look at him.

"You're not sorry. You don't even care, do you?" he mocked. "I lost _hours_ of time wandering around Arkham City looking for you- it was _humiliating_ -" Joker shouted, hitting her across the face again. "You had me worried sick!" he repeated, his voice shrill and furious.

"I'm sorry!" she cried, tears starting to run down her face. "I didn't mean to. I'm so, _so_ sorry." The elevator doors opened behind them, and Jonathan Crane stepped into the room, raising his eyebrows when he saw them. Harley tried to turn her head away from the Joker to look at Scarecrow, but he wouldn't let her. Crane's lips pressed together tightly as he looked away. Joker didn't take his eyes off of Harley; the hand not holding her pigtail came up to wipe the tears away from her cheek.

"Good," he breathed, forcing her to look at him before he violently released her hair, grabbing her arm and hauling her towards the bedroom. "I have to feed Nygma, since you so helpfully _abandoned_ us for a day, and then I'm going to talk to the good doctor for a moment-" he threw her into the bedroom where she stumbled and fell against the bed. When Harley looked back, he was silhouetted in the light outside of the room, shadows cast over his angry features. "I'll be back for you. Think about what you've done," he said quietly, before slamming the door closed.

Harley sank onto the bed and started sobbing. She covered her face with her hands, her cheeks stinging at the touch. _It's my fault. I shouldn'ta gone._ She whimpered and wrapped her arms around her knees as she rocked back and forth. He'd been worried about her, and she'd been with another man. And she still wanted to go see him. _He has every right ta be mad at me. I deserve it_. She tried to wipe her tears away as she waited for him to come back. Minutes passed, turning into an hour and continuing to tick on. The longer she sat, the guiltier she felt. The doorknob turned in the dark and Harley looked up hopefully, and when the Joker poked his head around the door, he immediately looked down at his shoes. The door creaked as he closed it behind him after stepping into the room.

"I'm sorry, Harley," he said quietly.

"No I'm sorry." She jumped up. "I'm so sorry I did that to ya."

"It's okay," he assured her, still not looking up. His hands were behind his back, and he shifted from foot to foot. "I shouldn't have… I mean, I didn't want to…" He suddenly looked at her, his eyes wide like that of a scolded child. Walking towards her quickly, he took a dirty freezer pack- the kind a school nurse might prescribe- from behind his back and pushed it against her cheek, watching her hopefully. "Is that better? Does it still hurt?" Joker asked hesitantly. The bag was taped closed and room temperature; they didn't have a freezer to chill it in. She couldn't even imagine where he'd gotten it.

"No, it's okay," she sniffled, putting her hand over his. "I'm fine, thank you." She looked down. "And ya should be mad at me. It's all my fault, an' I'm really sorry."

"Even so," he whispered. "I was just…" he hesitated, trying to decide on the best choice of words. " _Scared_. You were gone and I didn't know where or how you'd left or…" The Joker rested his forehead against hers, sighing quietly. "I'm sorry too." She put her hands on either side of his face, rubbing her thumbs gently along his cheeks.

"And that's _all_ my fault," she whispered. "I wasn't thinkin', an' I hurt you. I will never be able ta express how sorry I am."

"You don't have to," he smiled, sinking slowly down onto the bed. "Just continue to be the one thing keeping me smiling."

"Okay, I can try." She sat down beside him. "I am still _so_ sorry. Can ya forgive me?" she pleaded. Joker sighed slowly, again putting the lukewarm ice pack against her face.

"In time… yes," he assured her, pursing his lips. Harley gave him a watery smile before throwing her arms around him.

"Thanks. I don't deserve ya."

"Yet I need you nonetheless," he laughed, a wiry arm wrapping around her back. Harley gratefully held him close. She lifted her head up to look at him.

"Did ya have a nice chat with Scarecrow?"

"A lovely one, yes," he said calmly, looking down at her. "He, too, encouraged me to be a little less harsh with you, claiming that you didn't deserve it."

"It was my fault," she shook her head, "and you had the right to be mad."

"Well that's what I told him!" Joker laughed, cocking his head a bit in the darkness of the room. There were no windows to let the sunlight in. "But he urged that I shouldn't have hit you. Maybe I agree."

"It's okay." She grabbed his hand and kissed it. "It doesn't hurt."

"I can tell when you're lying," he chuckled, tracing a thumb over her cheek. She tried not to wince at the pressure.

"Well, I'll get better," she brushed it off.

"No you won't," he laughed, leaning forward and kissing her suddenly. Harley gasped. She held onto his shoulder, the other hand bunching in his shirt. He kissed her again, breaking it off too soon as his lips fell away from hers. Joker rubbed his face tiredly.

"Oh, Harley, I should work," he sighed and glanced at her. When he finally smiled, her heart soared. Joker shrugged. "But I suppose I could use something to help me relax."

"Well then, lemme help." Harley beamed and pulled him back to her, kissing him hungrily. Joker's thin lips moved against hers, his hands on her arms. He suddenly shoved her down against the bed, pain shooting from the back of her head where it'd hit the elevator wall when she landed. A low, ominous laugh rose in his throat, and he pulled his lips away from hers. The Joker grinned down at her.

"Now Harley, don't get too overeager. You could jump and miss, and you can't be sure anyone will catch you." He kissed her harshly, pinning her down.

Harley's eyes went wide, and her breath caught in her throat. _He knows_ , she panicked. Her hand tightened nervously in his shirt.

"It's a good thing I'll be there to see you fall, right? To catch you?" he whispered against her lip, staring into her eyes.

"Yes," she gasped.

He smiled- _genuinely_ smiled this time- the gesture still painted with cruelty. "Then as long as you're mine, I'll be there," he assured her. Her argument with Dick flashed through her mind and she swallowed hard.

"I love you, Puddin," she said meekly. His grin widened.

"Now be quiet. Or will I have to get the tape again? Hold still." He kissed her lips lightly, tauntingly, before pulling her shorts down as he held her against the bed.

* * *

It had been brutal.

City Patrol was difficult enough, but with Poison Ivy and Red Hood stirring up trouble, Downtown Gotham had been a wreck with panicked and angry citizens all flooding the streets. Dick had worked hard to calm everyone down, and by the end of his shift, he just wanted it to be his break day already. He immediately transferred to his Supply run shift the next day, which had been much better; he was separated from the group of scavengers for most of the day and quite a bit of the night before he rejoined them at the truck, already filled with food pulled from convenience stores and shops along the way.

"Okay, is there anything special we were supposed to get?" Dick asked as he returned to Jason, the night vision in his mask painting the world green.

"Um," Jason shone his flashlight over the list, "nope. But did you get Batgirl her Kit-Kats?"

"Apology Kit-Kats, yes," Dick patted a pocket on his utility belt. "We may as well head in. We'll have a couple of hours to catch a bit of rest before our next shift, then."

"Oh thank God," Jason sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, you and me both," Dick yawned, swinging up to the passenger seat of the truck. He pressed his comm. "Alright, everyone, we're heading in," he ordered to the police officers accompanying them. Jason tossed the list onto Dick's lap and started the truck.

"That's the best thing I've heard all day." He shifted the truck into gear. Dick dropped his head back against the seat.

"So how was your day off with Ivy, Bueller?" he asked, taking his mask off to rub his eyes.

"I had plans to sleep all day, and suddenly I was on city patrol," he muttered. "How do you think it was?" Dick laughed.

"So that's a no? I think she likes you. Despite her supposedly saying you're a complete asshole," he mused, tapping his fingers on the dashboard. They rolled back down the empty road towards Gotham.

"Yeah it was practically a date," Jason said with mock enthusiasm. "A kid died and everything."

"I'm sorry about that, by the way," Dick said quietly.

"It happens, I guess. Not to normal people, but it does happen." He shrugged. "So how was _your_ date?"

"Pretty… um… eventful," he laughed, biting his lip. Jason glanced at him before returning his attention to the road.

"Should I be proud or concerned? Or both?"

"Maybe both. I think…" _I think I'm falling for her._ "I think I may actually be able to separate her and the Joker," he confessed.

"Okay so proud. I can only assume you two kids had fun so proud again." He smirked. "Now the reason for concern?" he pried.

"There's just _something_ about her," he sighed.

"Shit, _Dick_." He glared over at him. "What did I say?"

"I know what you said, but she just… I've never met anyone like her."

"Anyone what? Crazy like a fox?"

"No, I don't _know._ Something about her is different. In a really, _really_ good way. I don't think she's as bad as we always thought." Dick stared out the window at the stars, smiling. He glanced at Dick and did a double take.

"Sonofa bitch. Stop it. You stop it right now."

"What?" Dick laughed. "I'm _sorry._ I can't help it, it's like… I don't know. But I'll come up with a comparison," he muttered, thinking to himself.

"No, I don't care. Stop falling in love with the Joker's right hand girl right now. I mean it," he warned. "Don't cross that line."

"I'm not 'falling in love with her,' Jason," he assured his brother. "I just like her. And she's so damn cute, you wouldn't believe." Dick sighed. "And she has these blue eyes, they're just-"

"-Do you even hear yourself?!" he demanded. "Not falling in love my ass."

"I'm not!" He insisted.

"Uh huh, because you wax on about platonic friends eyes all the time," Jason said drily. "Your sonnet on Tim's hair last week made me cry."

"Oh shut up, Jason, why can't you just let me be... happy..." He trailed off when he realized what he was saying. Dick shook his head. "Either way, I don't think-"

Dick cut off again as the truck lurched over something huge, and Jason nearly lost control of the wheel. They skidded to a stop on the side of the road and Dick looked back in the mirror before glaring at Jason.

"What have I said about hitting zombies for the hell of it?! This isn't Grand Theft Auto, Jason, you can't just-"

"-I didn't mean to okay? I was distracted by your idiotic rambling so calm down, mother hen." He put the truck into park. "Should we go check?" Dick looked uneasily out at the dark.

"Probably. Come on, let's make this quick." He yanked on the door handle, jumping out of the vehicle.

"That nap is starting to look less and less likely," Jason muttered as he reluctantly followed. Dick switched on his night vision in the lenses of his mask as he rounded the front of the van.

"Shit," he sighed, blood splattered over the front bumper. "That's a lot of blood..." Dick knelt to look at it. "And it's human. Tell everyone why we've stopped," Dick ordered, standing again and walking to the back, where a dark heap lay in the middle of the road.

"Possible civilian casualty," Jason updated over comm. "Stand by while we investigate." He turned his mic off. "Please tell me I didn't run over someone who was still alive."

Dick had frozen where he stood above the body, staring down at it. Jason hesitated.

"Do I want to go over there?" he asked. "On a scale of eating the last piece of pizza to slavery, how bad am I going to feel?"

"She was definitely dead before you hit her," Dick called back. "But I don't know if you want to come over here." He knelt slowly by Jessica's head, her police uniform covered in her own blood as well as the thick paste of zombie blood as she turned. Dick pulled out his gun and switched to live rounds, turning away as he shot her in the head. She must have gotten bit while she was out. Dick stared at her and then closed her eyes gently, picking up the body. "She had a partner," Dick stated as he walked back to Jason. "Tell everyone to fan out, find him. We're bringing them both back, and if he's still alive, he can be saved." _This is all my fault. I should have made certain that everyone was back on the truck or in their cars to head back…_ Jason looked at him.

"We have an officer down and another missing," he updated, turning away. "Keep your guns ready and eyes open. There's a large group of us, and we're the only humans for miles so _be_ careful. No more casualties."

Dick gently laid Jessica's body in the backseat of the truck before turning back to the darkness around them. They were caught between Gotham and the city they'd raided, just behind them a few hundred feet away, for food and supplies. They'd reached the city's outskirts, an empty expanse of land, overgrown with weeds. It was dangerous.

"Careful, Jason. She must have come from the North. Take a group and head that way, I'll walk back to the city-" a couple of other officers joined him- "let's get this done."

"Okay." Jason took his gun out and flicked the safety off. "Be careful." He turned away to the waiting group of officers. "Anyone who doesn't want to die, stay behind me!" he called, leading them to the North.

Dick started towards the city, his gun unholstered and in his hands. Two officers trailed behind him, another two with Jason; yet another set of partners remained behind at the truck to guard the scavenged food.

"See anything?" Dick asked, pressing his comm.

"Not yet- wait- I think we found him," Jason sighed.

"Attacked?"

There was a gunshot as Jason killed the man before he could turn. "Yeah."

"Alright, grab him and let's go-"

Dick abruptly cut off as gunfire erupted a few hundred yards away, the flashing of the pistols like beacons in the dark. A man screamed and Dick pressed his comm, adrenaline already seeping into his veins.

"Red Hood!?" he cried, and no one answered. "Stay together," he commanded his group, and the two officers shifted nervously as they ran towards the gunfire. An Infected lurched around the corner of a building, tackling Dick. He cried out and shot it in the face, blood splattering on his mask. Dick shoved the body off as four more crept around the corner. "Shit," he swore, taking a step back. "Red Hood, answer me, damn it. We've got four here-" Dick nodded at the officers to open fire- "and more coming. Red Hood, report," he breathed.

 _Not Jason, too,_ Dick pleaded silently.

"Aw gross!" Jason complained. "It drooled on my mask. I just washed this!" There was another gunshot somewhere to Dick's right.

"Thank God," Dick laughed. "Answer me first next time, you jackass," he snapped, and then turned to the officers behind him. "Watch each other's backs. I'm going to get above to see what we're up against," he called, firing a grappling hook into the roof of the building, shooting two of the zombies as he rocketed to the top. He tumbled as he landed, skidding to a stop on the gravel roof. From here, he could see Jason and his group fighting off five or six zombies. The two officers below him took out the other two Infected, and he glanced down the street. Three more coming for Red Hood. Dick pressed his comm, connecting to the police radios. "Rendezvous with Red Hood and his group- they're taking heavy action-"

The two officers below him rushed away and Dick sprinted along the rooftops, watching their backs as they moved to join Jason and his group.

"Forget a nap," Jason muttered as blood splattered on his jacket as he shot another zombie dead center between the eyes. "I'm taking a shower when we get back."

"It's not them, it's your sloppy fighting style," Nightwing mocked, dropping down from the rooftop and landing on a zombie behind Red Hood. "You're welcome," he grinned as the other three Infected reached them.

"Maybe you should try flirting with them," Jason suggested, kicking a zombie away from him before shooting it in the head. "Isn't that what you do with dangerous things now?" Dick rolled his eyes.

"I told you, It's nothing. I think I can handle a purely physical relationship, Jason," he fired a gun at the zombie to their left. Another one rushed towards them, grabbing Jason's jacket as it growled. Dick yanked it back and shot it in the face.

Jason turned to him, his Red Hood helmet staring him down.

"Look at me and tell me you aren't getting feelings for her. Tell me you don't know where this is headed. _Convince_ me that you're not a little concerned," he demanded. "Come one. Lie to me."

"You're completely competent and know what you're talking about," Dick lied, smirking. "That looks like all of them, now let's get out of here." A couple of the other officers had picked up Jessica's partner's body, and they carried it back out of the city outskirts towards the truck in the dark.

"Fine." Jason did a quick weapons check before sliding the gun back in its holster. "But I hope you've at least admitted it to yourself because if you keep this up and keep going to see her," he shrugged, "it's going to end badly."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dick shook his head. "But I-" Two gunshots rang out ahead of them, the silhouettes of the officers by the trucks dropping to the pavement. "No!" Dick cried, breaking into a run.

"What the hell?" Jason muttered, already pulling his gun back out as he followed. His breath was dragged from his lungs when another two gunshots rang out and Dick was thrown backwards, falling back on the pavement. The truck roared to life. The headlights blinding Jason momentarily before it began tearing down the road towards them.

Dick managed to roll out of the way at the last moment, the other officers scrambling away as Jason stepped back. The van raced past him and there was a flash of red- a bullet ricocheting off of his mask, knocking him back. He stood in shock, watching the brake lights recede back towards Gotham.

"No really, _what the hell_?!" Jason moved over to check on Dick. "Are you hit?"

Dick groaned, pressing on his shoulder where blood seeped through his fingers. "Just clipped me," he hissed through his teeth. "But that far away- whoever it was- _could've_ clipped me, could've shot me. It was a damn good shot-" he cried out as he stood, staring after the van. "That was all our food for today, Jay…"

"That was also half our men, so how about you sit your ass down before you keel over too?" Jason ordered. "There's Infected blood everywhere. We need to get your wound cleaned and covered."

"We're going to have to call this in- Batman will have to come get us- this is a mess," he spoke through his teeth; his face pale. "We can't stay here." As he looked around at the few officers still standing, disgruntled and forlorn, Dick's jaw tightened. "Did you see the driver?"

"I saw a glint of red," Jason said simply. "Like a glowing red scope, or eyepiece even," he suggested. "Maybe even helps with impeccable aiming."

"Well great, _he's_ still alive," Dick muttered, pressing his comm. He winced and returned his hand to his shoulder to stop the bleeding again. "Batman. We'll need immediate pick up. We're still about ten miles out, and we were attacked. Deadshot stole the van and headed back towards the city- notify the bridge guard and send someone for us."

"Dispatching immediately," Bruce said. "Are there injuries? Do you have enough ammo to last until we can get to you?"

"We're fine, just don't take your time about it," Dick responded, turning the comm off. He pulled his jacket away from his shoulder, reaching into his belt for the antiseptic. "How many casualties?" Dick asked quietly as he cleaned the bullet wound in his shoulder. It was just a graze wound, but it was deep.

"The two original casualties, one of my group didn't make it, and then the two Deadshot took out," Jason relayed. Dick sighed slowly.

 _Add that to the body count; the blood on my hands._ He winced as he carefully bandaged his wound, double checking to make sure none of the Infected blood contaminated it. He pulled his jacket back on and looked at the group; three officers and Jason.

"I'm sorry." His voice was quiet, his jaw set. The shorter officer shrugged, his hands tight on his shotgun.

"We all knew the risks in this job," he said. Dick smiled a little.

"Yet you continue to fight. I couldn't be more humbled to be in the presence of heroes," he answered, nodding respectfully to the three officers still standing.

"Ew, is this about to turn feel good?" Jason asked. "Because with five of us just standing here with our thumbs up our asses, we're about to attract some serious zombies, so can we save the motivational crap until we're back in Gotham?"

Dick sighed in frustration, rolling his eyes. "Let's just start walking. And don't breathe a _word_ of my injury to Batman," he told Jason, walking down the road towards Gotham. The other officers fell into step behind him.

"I don't know. I'm keeping a lot of secrets for you," he yawned. "I'm going to be in serious trouble if he finds out."

"You always kept secrets for me, Hood, that's why I liked you best," he elbowed him, wincing as pain shot from his shoulder.

"And yet you never listen to my advice," Jason sighed.

"When was the last time you listened to _mine_?" Dick countered.

"Um, when you told me that the whole teeth in the helmet thing was a little disturbing," he scoffed. "I thought the mouth was endearing, but I guess not. Now we just have this boring expressionless piece of junk." He tapped his knuckles on his Red Hood helmet.

"It makes you look mysterious," Dick laughed, squinting his eyes at the headlights in the distance. "That was fast."

"This trip has made me suspicious of anything that moves," Jason muttered, watching the headlights warily. "And I'm not getting a nap."

"You'll be fine," Dick assured him.

"You spend your day off on city patrol then get back to me, okay."

"Where are you going next?" he asked, the truck slowing as it neared them and they cleared off to the edge of the road.

"Some patrol or other," he groaned. "I think it's Arkham patrol, but does it really matter?"

"I'll trade you," Dick said quickly. Jason glared at him.

"No. In fact, I'll offer to take all of your Arkham patrols."

"Come on, you don't want to go an entire week without a break, do you? You know I'm the only one who will trade you! I'm supposed to go on break at sunrise, just trade me," Dick pleaded as the truck stopped beside them. The officers all got in the back, and Dick and Jason got into the cab. Commissioner Gordon smiled at them.

"Long time no see, boys," he pushed his glasses up his nose, turning the truck around and heading back towards Gotham. Jason glanced back to do a quick head check.

"God, you've gotten old," he told Gordon. Dick chuckled.

"So are you trading me or not, Hood?" he asked, glancing out the window. He again smiled when he saw the stars, and then he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the headrest.

"No I am not giving you a chance to make a complete ass of yourself," he snapped. "Besides, isn't that a set slot for you? So she wouldn't even know you were there. I mean, maybe I'll let you wander around alone while I take a nap."

"She never seems to have any trouble finding me," Dick shrugged, wiping at the zombie blood on his jacket distastefully. "Ugh we have to get this stuff off. Too bad you're going on patrol. I'll just throw my laundry in the washer and go to bed," he smirked at Jason, the dark skyline of Gotham coming into view. He could tell Jason was glaring at him from behind his mask.

"You think you're so clever don't you?"

"I kinda do, yeah," he grinned.

"Well… you're not. Do you even patrol anymore? Or do you just make googoo eyes at anything with long legs and a gun?"

Gordon cleared his throat awkwardly, and Dick laughed. "Sorry, Commissioner. He's just kidding…"

"You two seem rather chipper for a near death experience," he commented.

"Yeah, you dick," Jason smacked Dick in the chest, "you could at least try to take things seriously."

"Well that's just the times, isn't it," Dick countered, sighing. They went over the bridge, passing the guards as Gordon drove them to Wayne Tower. The massive glass structure seemed to give off its own light in the dark. They got out of the van, and Dick waved to Gordon as he bid them goodbye and drove off with the other officers. "Last chance," he looked at Jason as they walked in the front doors. "You can nap for two hours, or twenty-four. Your choice."

"Do you really want Batsy wondering why you're so keen to go back to Arkham? Or to report to Commander Kate?" He mock saluted. "I'm obviously not going to be able to convince you that seeing her is a bad idea, but that doesn't mean I have to encourage it. Or let you get caught. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you haven't been being very careful about not getting caught."

"I… hadn't really thought about it, no," Dick said hesitantly, biting his lip. "I mean, we _haven't_ \- we- I don't know." He was frustrated, more with himself than with Jason pointing out his neglect.

"Some advice." He put his hand on Dick's shoulder. "Stay away from the security cameras, or you're going to have a lot of explaining to do. Check in regularly, even if you're… not exactly patrolling. Don't let her take your weapons off you without first taking her weapons off. And finally, don't see her anymore."

"Jason, I'll be fine," Dick smiled. "I don't know if it will even continue, she was pretty… hesitant last time too. It will probably just fade without ever being a problem. Don't worry."

"And yet you sound so sad, and I still worry," Jason sighed. "Now go get that shoulder bandaged. I'm going to get as much sleep as I can."

Dick nodded, walking to the elevators. "Alright. Just remember that 'having a little fun' was your idea. What's the worst that could happen?" he asked, smiling as the elevator doors closed; Jason could already tell that Dick was sealing his own demise, whether he chose to see it or not. Dick waited patiently, tapping his foot as the elevator fell to the basement levels where the labs were. He stepped off and punched his code in the door. The lab was empty save for a lone lamp in the dark across the room, the light illuminating Barbara's red hair falling down her back. She spun around when the alert popped up on her computer that Dick had entered the lab, and she gasped.

"Oh my God- what- Dick?" Barbara stood and rushed towards him. She was wearing her Batgirl cowl, but there was an oversized hoodie draped over her shoulders and comfy pajama pants on her legs. He smiled when she touched his cheek.

"I brought you some more samples," he grinned, holding his arms out to show her the zombie blood all over his coat.

"Jesus, Dick, what happened?" she breathed, helping him take his jacket off. Barbara let out a slow breath when she saw the wound in his shoulder.

"Deadshot distracted us with zombies, and then stole our food and shot me."

"He's alive? Dick, what did I tell you about using that word…" Barbara sighed. "Here, sit down, let me fix this so you don't end up needing a complete transfusion," she dragged a chair across the floor and pushed him down in it, examining his shoulder before her eyes trailed over the rest of his body. "God, it's _everywhere_ , Dick, that's gross…."

He laughed. "And yet you work with the stuff daily."

Barbara shot him a glare, turning to the desk to prepare samples. "Take your shirt off, and make sure none of that gets on your skin. You're on break next, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, carefully pulling the top of his Nightwing suit over his head.

Barbara glanced at him and then let out her breath in a short huff, working on scraping some of the blood away from his jacket. Dick looked up at her. He crossed his arms over his chest, and she continued her work as he watched, his eyes locked onto her face.

"Babs," he finally said, but she stopped him.

"Just don't. Please. Don't call me that, I'm still mad at you."

Dick smiled a little and put his hand over hers.

"Barbara, look at me."

There was a pause as she looked up at the wall in front of her. She didn't want to look at him. She _wanted_ to hate him, for being so stupid and selfish and… she froze as his hand tightened around hers, pulling her closer to him. She reluctantly turned, glaring down at Dick from where she stood in front of his chair.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I know it's been a while since we've talked, but I wanted to tell you in person. I'm sorry." He smiled a little, holding her hands. Barbara took them away, shaking her head slowly.

" _What_ are you sorry for, Dick?"

He looked taken aback. "I'm sorry that we fought. That I didn't give you the chance to talk, that… that I hurt your feelings."

"Nope. Sorry, Boy Wonder, but you're wrong." Barbara smiled a little, walking across the room to retrieve some first aid supplies. "I wasn't mad at you for that fight, or even for- as you put it- 'moving on.'" She knelt beside him, pulling the soiled bandages off of his shoulder and lightly spraying an antiseptic over it. He winced a bit. "I was mad that for a whole year we've had these… _nights_. It doesn't matter if we'd have sex, or talk, or lay in silence, or just sleep in the same _bed_ \- it's nice. I mean, _I've_ always thought so. I don't know if we'd sleep together to relieve stress or for some kind of comfort in this godforsaken world- but I was a little bit shocked to find out that we've been doing that, and all the while you're still in love with me. I mean, I guess it's to be expected and maybe _I_ even…" She trailed off, smoothing the bandage over his shoulder. Dick listened to her, his face rigid as he stared forward. Barbara watched his profile. "You just dropped it on me suddenly and all at once, and didn't give me time to process it. Once I had, and I tried to talk to you in the elevator, you told me that you'd moved on; again not giving me any chance to explain myself or even _think_ about it. And then you said it's…" Barbara couldn't even bring herself to say the name. _Harley Quinn._ "Dick, what the hell are you _doing_?" she whispered, looking up at him.

"It's nothing. Really, it isn't of any concern. We just talk," he lied. Barbara shook her head slowly and stood. Her body was turned away from him, her arms crossed as she bit her thumbnail.

"Just… be _careful_ , Dick. Play it smart, play it safe, and for the love of _God,_ don't get yourself killed." Barbara wrapped her arms around her waist, her worry masked by a calm expression on her face. Dick stood up slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Promise," he smiled a little, and she looked over her shoulder at him.

"And tell her if she tries anything or gets you hurt, she'll have _me_ and all of the Batfamily to answer to," Barbara smiled a little, flicking the bandage on his shoulder. Dick winced and laughed.

"You're not going to _tell_ anyone, are you?" he asked hesitantly. Barbara rolled her eyes.

"Your secret's safe with me."

"Good. Thank you, Babs," he smiled, stroking her cheek.

"Hey, it's what I'm here for. And I am still frustrated with you, stop calling me that."

"Sorry, Babs," Dick grinned broader. "Tell you what. Peace offering?" holding out his hand, Barbara beamed when she saw the Kit-Kats in his palm.

"Damn it, Nightwing, I'm not some crazy pigtailed girl that can be bought with your candy and that pretty smile," she giggled, taking the Kit-Kats. Dick's thumb traced over her cheekbones.

"No offense, but that crazy pigtailed girl isn't the one I'm thinking of right now," he whispered, grinning as he leaned closer. She could taste him in the air between them, his lips brushing hers. Barbara's heart beat a little faster.

"...you should sleep, Boy Wonder. Maybe next time," she laughed, turning away from him and switching her lamp off. "And I'm not joining you, I know that look. You need some actual sleep. And you need to wash these," she held out his clothes, dumping them into his arms. Dick suddenly felt the weight of how tired he really was, and Barbara took his hand to guide him out of the labs. They rode the elevator in silence and she left him at the door, whispering a quiet 'good night, Dick' before kissing his cheek and disappearing into her own room. He could still feel her lips on his cheek as he went into his bedroom and flopped down on the bed, asleep almost instantly; a smile on his face.


	16. The One With The Apartment

He'd dreamt about Harley.

It'd been Barbara's kiss lingering on his skin when he'd closed his eyes, but it was Harley's touch in dreaming. He'd awoken with a start, as the dream had started pleasantly, but ended in the same nightmares again; always the same nightmares. He and Harley were together, gasping; her kiss burned his skin but all he'd wanted was more; as they'd grown more passionate, her moans had turned to screams, her touch searing his flesh, and Dick had jolted awake in a panic; flashes of the years before in his mind. And the blonde woman. A quick smile and the soft tumble of blonde hair over his face, glasses shining in the sun and a laugh echoing through the haze of his dreaming.

Dick shook off the chill that the recalled images brought with them, firing his grappling hook around a light pole and rocketing upward to perch on it. It was windy, another spring storm blowing in from the mainland, and he scanned the horizon. Empty and gray. The sun had risen on his patrol day, and after he'd slept and cleaned himself up, he'd been ready to take on his work. Dick rubbed the shoulder where his graze wound was, and then flipped off of the light pole back to the street. He scaled the wall of the wharf warehouse beside him to check the security camera; no evidence of tampering or damage.

"Everything seems to be ship-shape in northwestern Uptown Gotham," he reported into his comm. When Robin didn't respond, Nightwing could only assume that he was listening to his music again. Dick turned and began walking east along the docks; the sound of the cold wind whipping off of the water rushed in his ears and the chill bit through his jacket. He zipped it up, stopping to look down at the waves breaking against the rocks below. He smiled a little. A cannery building loomed behind him, with a smaller ship repair yard beside it. Dick chuckled to himself. "'Ship'-shape," he smiled, looking up at the clouds. Everything was quiet and peaceful- until Dick felt teeth on his neck, panic and pain suddenly flooding his mind as something bit him.

He cried out and turned, slamming the zombie against the wall as the sharp prongs of the taser shot out of the end of his escrima stick- and it was just before they made contact with it's face that he realized he _recognized_ who it was. Who _she_ was.

In fact, she wasn't a zombie at all, grinning up at him and cackling happily.

"Harley!?" Dick cried, his elbow pressed across her shoulders, holding her against the wall. He was too shocked to move, the escrima stick frozen inches from her face. "What the _hell_!? I could've killed you!"

"You shoulda seen the look on your face," she gasped between peals of laughter.

"You have a sick sense of humor, Harley, that wasn't funny," he pressed, releasing her from the wall and putting the escrima stick away. His heart was racing from the shock, and he took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair.

"It was pretty funny." She giggled herself to a stop. "Are ya mad at me?"

Dick glanced at her and rolled his eyes. "No. You just scared me. I mean, come on. I could have seriously hurt you, did you even think of that?"

"A little. I knew it was a bad idea," she shrugged, grinning, "but I still wanted ta do it."

"That's what gets you into trouble, you know," he raised an eyebrow. She gave him a sly smile and leaned against his chest. She looked up at him through her bangs that were let down to frame her face, batting her eyelashes slowly at him.

"Would ya believe me if I said I was sorry?" she asked sweetly, running her hand up his chest and up to his neck.

Dick straightened up a bit, inhaling sharply. "Probably not, actually. You were laughing way too much to be remorseful at all." The corner of his lips turned up a bit. She stood on tiptoe.

"Well I'm sorry," she breathed, her lips next to his ear. Dick closed his eyes, his lips parting ever so slightly as he smiled.

"Definitely not sorry," he laughed, his hands moving to her hips.

"Ya won't forgive me?" she asked. She leaned back but moved her hips forward against his and pouted as she hung onto his shoulders.

"Of course I will," Dick grinned. He couldn't believe how quickly her presence could make him forget about everything. He _wanted_ to neglect his duties. He _wanted_ to run away with her.

"Good cuz I'd hate for ya to be mad at me." Harley smirked "But I don't think you are." She leaned forward again, her lips brushing his. "Unless that's a wingding in your pocket," she whispered.

"Well the only one I had left I _lost_ , so I guess that means you're right," he groaned, his lips chasing hers. He pulled their hips together, his thumbs hooking in her shorts at the base of her spine, tracing over the waistband of her underwear. She leaned her face away, grinning.

"Then I guess that means good news for me." Her fingers lazily trailed up his neck and into his hair.

"I guess it does, doesn't it?" he breathed, licking his lips anxiously and brushing her bangs away from her face. His lips had barely met hers when he pulled back suddenly, again pushing her hair out of the way. A fading bruise was on her cheek, and Dick's face twisted in anger. "Harley what is this?" he demanded, cupping a hand delicately under her chin and turning her face so he could see the bruises better.

"It's nothing," she mumbled, turning her face away and out of his hand.

"It doesn't look like nothing," he said gravely, again taking her face in his hands. Dick hesitated, and then made her look at him. "Harley did he do this to you?" She stepped back away from him, looking down at her feet.

"I told ya it was nothing. Just let it go." She nervously pulled her bangs back in front of her face. Dick's jaw tightened and he stepped forward purposefully, taking her face in his hands again, making her look up at him, and then he kissed her passionately. Harley gasped in surprise. Her hands reached up and held onto his jacket as she pinched her eyes closed. As his fervor calmed and his lips fell away from hers, Dick stroked a thumb over the bruise on her face.

"I'm here for you," he whispered gently. "If he lays a hand on you again, I'll kill him."

Harley shook her head. "No," she sniffled a little, "no it was my fault."

"Harley. I may not have been there, but I promise you this- it _was not_ your fault." _A victim,_ he thought. "Why did he hit you?" _Just another victim of the Joker, like the rest of us._

"It was because he was worried about me," Harley defended him, "when I didn't come home." She stared at Dick's chest as she talked. "He didn't mean ta; he just lost control, that's all. It was my fault. He didn't know where I was, an' I wasn't supposed ta be in Uptown, an' I…" She paused and glanced up at him before looking back down "... I wasn't supposed ta be with you." Dick inhaled sharply, his face going pale.

"This…" he traced the bruise on her face, his touch so gentle she could barely feel it. "...This isn't my fault, and it isn't your fault," he assured them both. "He isn't allowed to do these kinds of things, Harley. Not even _him,_ " he breathed. Dick pressed his lips to her forehead. "Things like that aren't supposed to happen to anyone, and especially not to a girl as sweet as you," he told her, and then looked in her eyes. "Does he… Did you tell him about me?" She shook her head.

"But I think he knows," she breathed, her eyes wide.

Dick bit his lip, thinking for a minute. "We can't do this anymore. Not if he hurts you like that." _It could get her killed._ "It's too dangerous." He finally shook his head slowly, pulling her closer by his hand still cradling her face. He nosed his way to her lips and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. _Don't._ His lips fell away from hers. _It's too dangerous… but I don't want to stop._

"We just can't meet by the wall anymore," Harley pleaded, her eyes watering. "I don't wanna lose you as a friend. Even if we can't…" She tucked her hands into her chest. "But if you don't wanna see me anymore-"

"- _No_. I mean..." Dick smiled a little, sighing quietly. "I was hoping you'd say that. I don't want to lose you, either." He took her hands, kissing her fingers.

"Okay." She gave him a watery smile before glancing back toward the wall even though they couldn't see it from where they were. _I made him so worried last time an' I'm out here again_. She looked back down. _But I don't mean ta hurt him… I just…_ She looked back up at Dick. He smiled gently, his forefinger under her chin guiding her lips to his, soft and deliberate.

"I think I have an idea," he said once the kiss had finished, pulling away and smiling.

"Is it a fun idea?" she asked as she smiled back.

"I hope so. What if we found a place… far away from the Arkham City walls, overlooking the ocean, maybe; that could serve as our… home away from homes," he suggested. Dick was still hesitant of his words even as he spoke them.

"Are ya suggestin' we make a secret hideout?" She grinned. Dick laughed.

"I guess you could call it that."

"I'm game." She bounced up and down a little. Her eyelashes were still wet, but she looked more excited than sad now. "We definitely hafta decorate it."

He smiled. "Hold your horses, though, cutie. We still have to find a good spot. I'm thinking what used to be the expensive apartment buildings and hotels a couple of blocks to the east," he pointed, and she could see the skyscrapers looming against the dark sky.

"It has ta be high enough we can look over everything, but I don't have one 'a those grappling hooks and stairs are brutal, so not too high." She grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction he'd indicated.

"I'll get you one. Batman won't miss it, I hope; we have plenty of extras. It will be safer if we bar the doors and enter through the windows- that way no Infected can get in without us knowing…" He thought out loud, his hand in hers as they walked.

"Ooo we should go to a furniture store and get a bunch 'a pillows and blankets to make a fort," she told him. "And I want a coffee table. Is that weird? We're getting one." She dragged him along in her excitement. "An' I saw this cute lamp at Hobby Lobby one time. We don't have power, but I think it'd still look cute." Dick smiled after her.

"Whatever you want." He looked around as they reached the towering buildings. "So where do you want to look first?"

"Umm," she glanced around at all the buildings. "That one." She pointed at a sleek skyscraper that had been an expensive hotel. It had the largest windows and balconies.

"All right," Dick laughed. They walked to the building and he looked up, gauging where he ought to fire his grappling hook. Dick pulled out his escrima stick and aimed, wrapping his arm around Harley's waist before firing the grappling hook out of the end. Dick grit his teeth against the pain in his hurt shoulder as they launched upward and landed safely on the wide balcony. Harley giggled, her chin against his shoulder.

"That's still really hot by the way," she grinned. Dick laughed a little, his hand slipping into hers as he walked to the balcony doors; when he tried the handle it gave, and he smiled, leading her into the dark rooms.

"Candles. We'll need candles..." He looked around. The dim room was lavishly decorated, everything still in its pristine, proper place. It was as if it was waiting for its next guest. In the immediate room was a decorative glass table and a round vase of long dead flowers, dry and hanging dejectedly from their pot. It was a sort of foyer or entrance room, and directly across from the balcony doors were the double doors to the suite. Dick walked to them and made sure the handles were still locked, and he pushed the table up against them for good measure. Another set of metal double doors, presumably leading to a bedroom, were on the left, and a matching set to the right opened into a wide living room furnished with modern looking couches and chairs; a glass coffee table rested under a layer of dust between them, in front of a sleek metal fireplace. Windows on either side of it were covered by thick drapes, and the kitchenette was dark on the far wall, a glass dining table near it. The carpet was soft and thick, everything sickeningly white and gray with brushed metal. It was a suite fit for the richest of the rich, now all dead, that used to come to Gotham. Dick whistled, impressed.

"I can see why I've never stayed here." Harley dropped to the ground and started make snow angels in the carpet. "This carpet is worth more than I am."

"Oh I don't think so," Dick laughed at the cloud of dust she was kicking up. He strolled away, checking through the rooms to look for any Infected victims. A bathroom with one wall lined with floor to ceiling mirrors, a massive bed in the bedroom with white bedding and a metal headboard… Each room had a doorway out to the long balcony overlooking the water. Dick returned to the living room, glancing at the kitchenette and bar and putting his hands in his pockets. "Did you want to search anywhere else?"

"I dunno." She sat up and sneezed. "Wherever we end up staying, we're gonna need ta vacuum and dust." She sneezed again.

"You tell me how to do that without a vacuum," he laughed, smiling down at her. Dick took a deep breath and looked around. "I like it. Small enough to be comfortable, but big enough to be spacious- and sealed tight. One door in or out, high up, inconspicuous, no other surrounding buildings..." He nodded.

"We should go ta Wal-Mart and get one of those battery powered vacuums," she muttered as she pinched her nose to hold back a sneeze, watching the cloud of dust settle back around her. "They have a little charge ta taunt ya with when you buy 'em before they gotta charge right?" She looked up at him before suddenly squealing. "We forgot ta check if the view was good!" She jumped up and ran over to the windows on either side of the fireplace, yanking the curtains back. The gray sky seemed to blend straight into the water on the horizon, other skyscrapers outside of the windows framing the dismally colored backdrop. Dick stepped behind her and put his hands on his hips.

"Is that view acceptable, your highness?" Harley turned and grinned at him before scampering in the bedroom to see that view.

"It never ends!" she cried. She flung open the balcony doors and skipped along outside until she was in front of the living room windows. She beamed and waved at him. Dick laughed, grinning out at her. His smile wavered a bit.

"Shit," he breathed, looking away. _Damn it, Jason._ Harley went back into the bedroom, closed the doors, and looked around.

"Jinkies! Look at this bed!" She called. He stepped into the room just as she dove onto the plush bedding, kicking up another cloud of dust. "Not again." She rolled onto her stomach and hid her face in her hands. Dick laughed, leaning over her. He put his lips right beside her ear, grinning.

"Is the room to your liking, Lady Quinn?" he asked, assuming a fake British accent as his hands slid up her sides.

"We will need to do some modifying, Sir Richard." She giggled, rolling over to look up at him. "So now what?"

"We could always go get things for our new place," he said quietly, leaning down to kiss her neck. His hands traced along her arms slowly, over her shoulders, and down her sides. Dick kissed her collarbone.

"Hmmm." She pulled him closer by his utility belt. "You seem like ya got something else in mind."

"Did I tell you that I dream about you?" Dick whispered, looking up at her as he slowly trailed his hands back up her waist, pulling her shirt up.

"No." She traced her thumbs along his jaw. "I hope they're good dreams."

"With the exception of the occasional memory of you beating the shit out of me, yes. All good dreams." Dick grinned at her, leaning up to bite her lip before kissing her softly. "Although even Batman begrudgingly admitted once that your jester costume was kind of hot, so it wasn't just me thinking it, at least." His hands moved to her hips, suddenly pulling her against him, his lips brushing hers. "Just because you were a super villain doesn't mean I can't admire the way that costume fit you." She wrapped her legs around his waist.

" _Was_ a super villain? How _that_ outfit fit?" Her hands pulled his face to the side so she could bite his ear. "What's wrong with the one now?" she whispered.

Dick let out a sharp breath through his teeth. His hand slid over her leg to the soft skin under her thigh, his thumb tracing along the hem of her shorts. "Oh I like this one just fine."

Harley giggled, kissing along his jaw. _Ya shouldn't be doin' this,_ she told herself. "We should really go get the stuff for this place, huh?" She leaned back, grinning. "I'd hate for things ta be dirty."

"I thought you liked it a little dirty," Dick laughed, his hands tightening on her legs as he leaned up a bit to look at her.

"Not…" She held up a finger with a look of concentration on her face until she sneezed. "Not this kind of dirty." She hid her face in the crook of his neck as she giggled.

Dick laughed, closing his eyes. _Shit shit shit._ "Alright, alright," he agreed, suddenly desperate to get out of the situation he'd put himself in. He sat up and stepped away from the bed, still smiling; masking his panic.

Harley blinked at his sudden retreat. "Well jeepers, I don't bite." She laughed. "Okay, sometimes I do." She hopped off the bed. "This place needs some color… and new bedding." She hit the covers and watched the dust poof up.

Dick took a deep breath, running his hand through his long hair. "Yeah. Let's go get some stuff," he smiled.

"Okey dokey. Ooo! Can I try the grapplin' thing this time?" She grinned hopefully at him. Dick looked at her unsurely, but shrugged.

"I don't see why not. Come on," he walked to the balcony doors, opening them up and stepping out into the chill.

She skipped after him. "So how do these doohickey's work?"

"Alright. Well the grappling hook is all physics." He pulled out one of his escrima sticks; about a foot and a half long and an inch and a half in diameter, showing it to her. It was black polymer with thin blue accents around the circumference about four inches from each end. "It's a simple weapon, with a grappling hook in one end and a charged taser in the other," he explained. There were two nearly imperceptible buttons in the grips on it's surface; one near the end furthest from him, and one beside his hand where he held it. He pressed the one closest to his hand. The blue strip around the far end suddenly lit, crackling with electricity. "This one is for the taser, and the other end is for the grappling hook. Press it once and it's charged, press it twice-" he did so, and sharp metal prongs shot out- "it's still charged, just more dangerous." When he pressed it a third time the blue strip went dark and the prongs sank back into the weapon.

"That is so cool," she said in awe. She poked her head close to the end of the stick as she looked at it. "Why doesn't everybody carry these?"

"Because despite giving the impression of just beating people with sticks, they're very, very hard weapons to master. Batman invented these upgraded ones himself, and they're also incredibly expensive to make," Dick laughed.

"Got it. Ya break it ya bought it." She grinned. "So how does the…" she mimed firing in the air, "work?"

"The grappling hook." He chuckled and turned the weapon over in his hand so that the other end faced out. "It's a more complicated piece of tech. Basically this part opens up-" Dick tapped the end above the blue accent- "and folded inside here is- well, it's not really a grappling hook. It looks like the top of a harpoon- it's small, but you fire it into the concrete of a building, and three wings open up from it. Little metal pieces to help it grip. It's connected to a high-tensile steel cable that can lift up to a ton." He smiled, handing her the escrima stick to examine. She could see the nearly invisible lines on the top where it opened up. "The cable is coiled tightly down the length of the weapon, like a fishing line. All in all, it's about six hundred feet long."

"Ya know I had a grapplin' hook once." She smiled up at him. "It… didn't work…"

Dick laughed and let out a slow breath, biting his lip. He was glad that she couldn't see his eyes behind his mask; he knew he was falling for her, and he wouldn't have been able to bear it if she knew. With his mask on, he was still able to hide. "So it's just…" He stepped behind her, swallowing hard as he held out the escrima stick. She took it, his hands over hers and his arms around her. "From here, we want to get down, so I'd fire it over here-" he moved her a bit so she was facing the balcony of the neighboring room. The wind blew through her hair, her loose bangs brushing his face. Dick took a deep breath to focus. "Aim close to the bottom. It has to be high enough up that it won't crumble, but low enough that it will still release." His words were quiet, his lips just beside her ear.

Harley shuddered, and she knew it wasn't because she was cold. His arms were warm around her. _Focus_. She carefully tried to aim. It felt awkward in her hands, the angle different than aiming a gun. She took a deep breath and hit the button.

"Brace yourself, there's a bit of a kick-" he cried, and his hands swiftly tightened around hers before the escrima stick could whip out of her hands as the sharp, pronged end fired out and bit into the concrete of the balcony, the steel line going taut. "And hold on _tight_ ," he laughed. "A strong grip is key. This is much more difficult than a grappling gun, because there's very little to hold onto. Same when you swing off. Hold it tight. Ready?" Dick turned his head a bit, his lips brushing her ear. _Stop it_ , he scolded himself.

But he didn't _want_ to.

"Um, no." She glanced at him. "You're distracting me," she confessed.

"I'm sorry. I'm really trying not to," he admitted, biting his lip. Dick stepped back and lifted her onto the balcony railing, stepping up behind her with his boots on either side of hers. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he held the escrima stick just above her hands. "All you have to do is hold the button to release more cording. When you let go, the line will stop coming out; and if you push it again, the cording retracts. Don't double-click it, that will release the wire from the stick completely and then we'll be in trouble," he instructed.

"Okay. Hold for cording, stop ta stop, an' press ta retract," she mumbled to herself. Her stomach felt tight with the suspense, and she was glad he was with her. "Okay." She took a deep breath, squealed a little to herself, and tipped off the railing. She pressed and held the button as they fell. She felt Dick's muscles tighten against her back, his arm tensing around her waist as the cording released and they dropped in a free fall, swinging forward as well as racing down. The ground was coming up fast and in a panic Harley's thumb slipped off of the button and the cord stopped abruptly. Dick inhaled sharply and for a second- they continued to free fall- before the line went taut. The motion jerked on her shoulders painfully and yanked the weapon out of her hand; Dick still held firm, but he'd been focusing on her and hadn't seen the roof to the front entrance of the hotel coming. Harley squealed and Dick let go just before they hit it; they dropped the remaining six feet to the pavement and Dick's arms curled around her protectively.

He cried out when his back hit concrete, pain exploding in the wound in his shoulder, and the air rushed out of his lungs as Harley's weight came down on his chest. Dick groaned and started to laugh, wheezing slightly.

"Oh my God!" Harley cried, quickly rolling off of him. "Are ya okay?" She checked him over. "I am so sorry. Oh gosh, are you alright?"

Dick laughed harder, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm good, I'll be fine- just let me- give me a second-" he coughed, reaching down to press a button on the holster strapped to his thigh. The escrima stick dangling above them suddenly shot upward as the cording retracted and finally released, and Dick watched the weapon fall towards him before reaching up and catching it to prevent it from hitting his face. He slid it into the holster and coughed again.

"I coulda killed you!" she gasped. "I just, I panicked, and just your arms were around me, and that thing is so hard ta hold onto, an' I'm so sorry."

"No, it's fine," he laughed, sitting up. His shoulder was burning. "I should've seen it coming, it was my fault. You didn't know," he amended, smiling at her. "I'm fine, really." She made a strangled noise and buried her face in his chest.

"I shouldn'ta asked ya to let me do that."

"You'll have to learn, either way," he grinned. "Now come on, we've got some house shopping to do, don't we?" He stood unsteadily, holding his shoulder.

Harley put a hand over her mouth. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," he straightened up, kissing her head. "Deadshot clipped me yesterday when he stole all of our food," Dick smirked, guiding her away from the building and down the street. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" She looked a little taken aback.

"I didn't hear about that." She frowned.

"Maybe _he_ doesn't trust you as much as you think," Dick commented, shoving his hands in his pockets. Harley looked like she was seriously considering this for a second before she shrugged.

"Nah. It's probably just cuz 'a the thing Deadshot and I had while I was in the Suicide Squad. I think Mistah J's still mad at him for that," she mused. Dick cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Oh. Of course, though, why not?" he muttered, kicking a cigarette box along the street. Harley grinned.

"Are you jealous?"

"No I'm not," he looked at her, answering a little too quickly. His cheeks went red. "No! Why would I be? We're just friends," he tried to reassure them both.

"You are! Aw that's so cute!" she giggled. "If it makes ya feel any better, we all thought we were gonna die."

"There's a furniture shop," he mumbled. "Do we need to go in there? What exactly are we trying to find?" Dick asked, trying to change the subject.

"I dunno. Let's find out." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the store. "So," she glanced back at him, grinning, "is there anyone I need to be jealous of?"

 _Barbara,_ he thought, but then the name left his mind as quickly as it had come. "Not that I know of." _Damn you._ He couldn't help but scold himself. _Does she mean that little to you?_ Dick watched Harley, pulling him into the dark furniture store as she skipped a bit. He smiled. _Or does Harley just mean... more?_ His smile vanished and he shook his head a bit. _Damn you to hell._

"What, no new girl? You an' Batgirl still over?" she pried as she dropped down onto the first recliner she came across.

"No big furniture," he told her, looking around. "There's already some in the room- and besides, how would we get it _in_ there?"

"So what you're sayin' is ya want a furniture kit you can put together," she giggled. "Kiddin', no big furniture." She hopped back up. "And you're avoidin' the question."

"I answered your question," he looked down at her. "I said _not that I know of._ Unless you're jealous of the hundreds of fangirls I have in Downtown," he added, smirking.

"That wasn't the question an' you know it." She smacked his chest before wandering over to look at mirrors.

"Fine," Dick raised an eyebrow, following her. "If I answer that, you have to answer my question," he brushed past her, glancing back. "You remember the rules."

"We're breakin' all the other ones," she muttered. "Fine, what's your question?"

"Who's better, me or the Joker?" he grinned, turning to her and leaning against the frame of a full length Victorian mirror. Harley could see herself reflected in the dusty surface. She squinted at him, pursing her lips.

"Oh no doubt you're more morally good," she said sweetly.

"That wasn't the question an' you know it," he imitated her accent, still grinning. She glared at him.

"Fine. I retract my question," she muttered, sticking her tongue out at him.

"That's what I thought." He laughed, walking away through the rows of furniture.

"You're such a butt." She grabbed a throw pillow off a couch and tossed it at the back of his head. Dick laughed and glanced over his shoulder at her, smoothing his hair down where the pillow had hit.

"I knew you wouldn't answer it, and therefore _I_ wouldn't have to answer _your_ question. I went to four different private schools and one semester of a University to learn the skills to do _that_ ," he grinned, shrugging.

"And what if ya were wrong, boy genius?" she taunted. "What if I'd said Joker? Or..." She walked past him, trailing her hand along his chest as she smiled. "What if I'd said _you_?" She smirked over her shoulder at him as she moved into the lamp section. His smile vanished.

 _Well, shit._

Dick mentally screamed in frustration, staring after her. "Then I guess I would have either been very embarrassed or very flattered," he stuttered, angry with himself for tripping over his words, a string of curses and infuriatingly inappropriate thoughts running through his mind. Harley giggled.

"Four years at Gotham University studying psychology and psychiatry to learn to do _that_ ," she teased.

 _Why are you taunting him? Do you really wanna know the answer to these questions?_ The answer was yes. She did. She wanted to know if there was anyone else, and if he'd said no, she knew she'd be ridiculously happy. If he said yes, she hoped she wouldn't rip the girl's throat out. It didn't matter that she knew she shouldn't want it; she still did. And the fact that he wanted to know who was better frustrated her beyond reason. She couldn't answer that question. Either way, she would lose him as a friend. She glanced around the lamps trying to distract herself. She suddenly screamed.

"They have a lava lamp!"

"No power," he reminded her. "Candles," he suddenly remembered. "We'll need candles."

"For _what?_ " Robin suddenly asked, and Dick cried out, whirling around. No one was there, and he sighed in relief, pressing his comm.

"Um… just Supply run. Last night Red Hood and I picked up a lot of candles, and they were in the truck that was stolen. The citizens are running low on them; I just remembered that I had to tell Supply that," he lied lamely, his heart racing. Suddenly he'd been wrenched out of his dream world, and he saw what he was doing- neglecting his duties, and in doing so, putting Robin, himself, and the rest of his family in danger, as well as the city and the people in it- his throat felt like it closed on itself and he took a deep breath, fighting to clear it. _Oh God, what are you doing, Grayson…_

"Alright, tell them when we get in. And thanks for checking in, asshole, it's been a while," Damian snapped sarcastically. Dick bit his lip.

"Sorry, Robin, I-"

"-no, don't worry about it. But I warn you- disappear like you did last time, and I'm telling Father that you've been completely remiss in your duties."

"But I haven't!" Dick cried defensively.

"Your voice wavers when you lie, and I guarantee you're biting your lip. Don't lie to me. You don't have to tell the truth, either, but don't lie. If you don't want to tell me what you do every day, I don't care."

The comm went dead and Dick switched it to mute again.

 _Endangering them. Endangering him, myself… and what for?_

Harley was leaned around a shelf looking at him. "Did ya know that from the wall, you guys look ridiculous when ya talk on your comms? It's a lot 'a gestures and talkin' to yourself, and it looks funny." She giggled. Dick laughed, smiling a little.

 _Her._

"You're one to talk." He took a deep breath. Why shouldn't he allow himself this luxury? _I've sacrificed everything for Gotham. I don't want to have to give her up too._ "See anything you like?" he asked, walking towards her, stopping next to the shelf. He cupped a hand under her chin. "Because I sure do." Dick leaned down and kissed her passionately. It was so sudden, so forward that she was shocked into kissing back. He held her face in his hands as they kissed. _Shit, damn it, son of a-_ Dick kissed her again, his panic suddenly over. _You never should have started this,_ he thought in resignation, _but what's done is done._ Harley giggled, pushing him back into the shelves; the lamps rattled. She broke off the kiss and bit his lip before kissing down his neck.

"I really hope it's not that ugly armoire because that'd be disappointing," she mumbled.

"Damn. I knew I shouldn't have gotten attached to it," he laughed, leaning his head back against the shelf as he closed his eyes. He pulled her closer by the lapels of her jacket and bit his lip, pushing her back across the aisle and against a dresser as he caught her lips again. Harley gasped. She grabbed his face, kissing him hard. After a few seconds, she stopped and glanced to the side in confusion.

"Did ya hear something?"

"I didn't," he muttered, biting her ear and pulling her against him by her belt. Her hands grabbed at his hair, and she tilted her head back before freezing. She glanced at the recliner section where she heard scuffing.

"Okay, did ya hear that?"

Dick had stopped too, and he looked at the rows of Lay-Z-Boys. "Yeah. Yeah, that I heard," he breathed, pulling an escrima stick out of the holster and pressing the button to charge the end. He walked towards the recliners. Harley followed behind him, peering over his shoulder. When the source of the noise finally came into view, Harley squealed so loud Dick jumped and nearly screamed.

"Aw! It's so cute!" The weiner dog looked up at the noise, sniffing at them.

Dick stared down at it, scrawny and malnourished, with a couple of scars on it's back that he could only assume had come from bigger dogs. Packs of strays wandered around Uptown, it wasn't a shock. "It's… what is it doing in here?" Dick knelt down, and the dog hunched over, growling.

"I dunno, maybe we smell like food." Harley squatted down beside him. "Hi little guy." She beamed. "We won't hurt ya. Right?" She glanced at Dick. "Put the taser away," she ordered. "You're scaring 'im." Dick rolled his eyes and double clicked the button to turn it off. The dog crept closer to Harley sniffing her outstretched palm.

"It's starving," Dick said quietly. "Be careful."

"It's not a zombie," she muttered. She scratched the dog's ears. "If I had food, I would give it to ya."

"Maybe we can find it some. We should get out of here, though. It's been a while, any number of Infected could be outside. Let's move on to someplace else." He grabbed her hand and stood.

"Okay," she sighed. "Come on puppy." It sniffed her leg, and trailed behind her when she started walking.

"Harley, no- we can't take it," he said gently, stopping and glancing down. "What are we going to do with it?"

"Feed it," she said seriously. "We can't just leave him here." She opened the door before making a surprised squeaking noise and slamming it closed. "Okay, I did not expect that."

"Infected?" he asked.

"Yup," she nodded. Dick groaned.

"Okay, grab the dog," he muttered, taking her hand as she scooped the squirming daschund up and they ran towards the back of the store.

"It's okay. We'll find you a Petco or something that has some dog food," she told the dog. Dick rolled his eyes and pulled Harley out the back door, heading for the commercial district a few blocks away.

They went through what was left of Wal-Mart, stripped nearly bare, and then browsed the other chain stores in the vicinity before finally calling it quits. The sun was dropping nearer to the horizon when they'd finished and begun their walk back to the hotel, both of them pushing stolen shopping carts full of the toiletries, knick knacks, and other scavenged treasures that they'd found. It took six trips to get everything into the room, and by the time they'd finished, the sky had grown dark. Dick stood on the balcony and looked out at the moon sparkling on the water surrounding the city. He'd spent nearly the entire day with her, completely ignoring his job- yet he couldn't bring himself to regret it. The little dog that they'd found barked happily behind him and he turned, smiling as he watched Harley dump a bag of beef jerky into a dish, along with some stale dog food.

"So what are you going to call it?" he asked, leaning back against the railing. The French doors to the balcony were pulled wide open, the curtains blowing in with the cool breeze. The pile of things they'd collected lay in the corner.

"Um," she sat back on her heels and watched the dog eat, "well he's a wiener dog… How about Oscar Mayer?" She beamed up at him. "Get it?"

"Of course," Dick laughed. His stomach growled and he looked down in surprise. They hadn't scavenged much food; there hadn't been much left _to_ scavenge. He sighed and walked back into the dark rooms, rummaging around for the candles they'd managed to find. He took a box of matches out of his utility belt and started setting them all over the room until it was filled with the warm yellow glow of the firelight. "We should probably eat something," he said distractedly, lighting another candle as his stomach growled again.

"Like what?" She laid down and rolled onto her back as she smiled up at him. "Uptown and Arkham aren't exactly buried in food in case ya didn't notice."

"I did, actually. We found enough for tonight, and I do have these-" he pulled a few protein bars and half a dozen Kit-Kats out of his utility belt pockets. Harley sat up.

"Is that chocolate?"

"Yeah, mood lighting _and_ chocolate, I'm giving you the full Monty here," he tossed her one with a smirk.

"Yes!" she cried as she caught it. "I haven't had chocolate in a year." She peeled the wrapper off as she talked. "I mean, I gathered a stash when things went south, but I'm bad at not eatin' things when I have 'em." She happily shoved a piece in her mouth. Oscar Mayer had finished his food and sniffed at her hand. Dick felt a pang of guilt before he sat down beside her on the floor, unwrapping a protein bar.

"I'll bet you were one of those kids who never had any Halloween candy left, either," he smiled.

"I was the kid who'd eat the whole pizza if ya left me alone at a party," she laughed.

"Something tells me you were never alone at parties," Dick raised an eyebrow, flopping back onto the carpet.

"I know! I never got ta eat the whole pizza." She laid back down beside him as she giggled. The dog trotted across the room to go smell the bathroom. Dick looked down at her with a smile.

"That's what I thought. So what was the infamous Harley Quinn like in college? Let me guess, the stay in and study type?" he asked, tossing the wrapper of his protein bar aside.

"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged. "I can only assume you were the exact opposite if you only made one semester."

"Not really. College was just never my thing. I was much happier on the streets, wearing a mask, than I ever would have been with a cap and diploma," he explained, tucking his arm under his head. The light from the candles flickered and danced in the breeze coming through the doors.

Harley sighed happily and stretched on the floor. She'd spent the time Dick had been grappling everything up vacuuming the whole place while the dog barked at the vacuum and hid under the bed. One battery powered vacuum didn't come with nearly enough charge to clean the whole floor, and it had taken three for her to be satisfied with it. She'd gotten red covers for the bed but blue sheets, and insisted the non functional lava lamp be put on an end table. She realized how tired she was, and the thought made her panicked.

"I should probably be heading back soon."

"We both should," Dick said quietly, closing his eyes. "Doesn't mean I want to."

"Nope." She agreed and sighed. "This floor is seriously _so_ comfy."

"Then let's stay awhile." His arm came down from under his head, tucking around her shoulders and pulling her close. She giggled.

"Didn't we both just say we should go?" She pushed his hair out of his face.

"Go where?" He smiled down at her. She pretended to think about it.

"Why don't ya give me a sec? I think I need help rememberin'." She pulled him to her by his jacket. "Got anything that'll jog my memory?"

"I might have a couple of tricks in my belt," he laughed, his lips barely touching hers before he finally kissed her again, as intensely as he had in the shop. It was easier now that he had accepted it; resigned to his feelings for her. He wasn't _in love_ , he just cared for her. At least, that's all he wanted to believe, and either way it made being with her so much less complicated. Harley rolled on top of him, her hands running up his neck to his jaw.

"Oh now I remember," she mumbled against his lips before kissing him quick. "It was away from you."

"Right," he smiled, pulling her jacket off slowly as he kissed her gently and then bit her lip. "I'm the bad guy…" he trailed off when he saw the bruises on her arms, left there by the Joker's hands. He scoffed quietly. "Right."

Harley leaned up, biting the inside of her cheek nervously. She'd completely forgotten about the bruises and that she was trying to hide them from him. She'd hoped remembering they were there would keep her from getting into another situation that would make her feel guilty, but… at least he hadn't seen all of them. "We should go," he nodded, looking away as he sat up, moving her gently off of his lap. Dick got up and began blowing candles out. Harley sat where he'd left her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No, Harley, _I'm_ sorry. How do you let him do this to you?" Dick asked quietly. His voice was pained, and he didn't look at her, stopping just behind her.

"It's… I don't… I mean, he's just a little more… rough than most people. He's just physically expressive. It's… he always says he's sorry." She wrapped her arms around her legs, hiding her face in her knees. Harley felt Dick's hand on her shoulder and when she looked up, he kissed her gently. He didn't care anymore. As long as she was with him, she wasn't with the Joker, and if it was the only way he could save her, then Batman be damned.

Harley blinked in surprise and hesitantly reached up to pull him down to her. Dick kissed her softly, his hand resting gently over the bruises on her arm. He helped her up as she stood and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. Dick held her dearly. Something had changed in his demeanor. He wasn't desperate or passionate anymore. She couldn't bring herself to think _loving._ But it was. He was gentle and kind as he held her, tilting his head to kiss her again.

 _No, stop it_. Harley closed her eyes, suddenly fighting the urge to cry. How tender he was being was making her chest ache. She didn't want to feel like this, she _couldn't_ feel this. She mashed her lips hungrily against his, pressing herself to him. Dick responded slowly again, his thumb stroking over the bruises. She took his hands, placing them on her body as her tongue tied with his.

 _Love doesn't have to be painful,_ he thought, taking her furious advance and turning it back on her in a soft and gentle kiss, his tongue running along her lip. _Let me show you._ His hands came to rest modestly on her waist over her shirt, and he pulled her closer. Harley desperately pushed him back against the couch. Her hands fumbled with his belt, trying to get him to do anything.

"Harley..." Dick sighed her name, kissing her slowly, savoring the taste. When his hands finally met her skin, his touch was feather-light and gentle, again resting on her waist. She whimpered slightly, tilting her face down as a tear finally escaped.

"Please," she whispered.

"Shhhh," he wiped the tear away from her cheek, suddenly panicking again _._ He kissed her softly and then looked in her eyes. She could barely see his behind the white lenses of his mask. "Stay with me."

"I can't," she breathed. "He'll-" she cut herself off before she could say that he'd get mad. She couldn't meet Dick's stare. He stroked her back gently, holding her close.

"Whatever you think is best."

"I-I just…" She grabbed his jacket and rested her forehead against his chest. "I don't know."

"I'm allowing you to choose, Harley," he said gently. "If you want me, I'll stay. But if I do, I'm going to show you how _I_ make love." He smiled a little, stroking her cheek. His lips met hers hesitantly as he kissed her, and then sighed happily. "Not that I'm biased either way..." He chuckled. Oscar had curled up on the floor, sleeping soundly under Harley's jacket.

Harley was tempted to say yes, and for a split second, she almost did. Then the moment passed and reality crashed down around her. She was Harley Quinn, the Joker's girl, Arkham patient, and wanted criminal; he was Nightwing, the Boy Wonder, hero, and one of the Bats. Even if she didn't love the Joker, even if he wasn't her whole life, she had nowhere else to go. Dick would leave tonight just like all the others, and Joker would still be all she had. If she chose Dick, she'd have no one and nothing.

She stepped away from him, her eyes mistrustful and her cheeks streaked with her mascara. "I think we should both go."

Dick looked taken aback, and then he nodded slowly. "Alright. I said it was your choice," he agreed, and then smiled gently. "I respect that, and I respect you."

"Stop sayin' it like that," she snapped. "Stop sayin' it like he doesn't love me. Stop sayin' it like he's not the only one who's been there for me and you aren't the enemy." She furiously wiped a tear away. She could see the white face paint that wiped into her hand and vaguely wondered how bad the bruises on her cheek looked now. "He may have his problems but it's not like you Bats can't take some 'a the blame. At least he's been there for me. An' I understand that you might not get our relationship, but you're not in Gotham right now. You're in Arkham, so welcome ta crazy. So stop acting like ya know me when we've only been friends for what? Not even a month. Friends," she scoffed. "An' you knew all this about me going into this 'friendship,' so stop judgin' me when the simple fact is that I love him. Okay?"

"I'm not _judging_ you, Harley," he held up his hands in surrender, stunned at her cold and bitter words. "I didn't say a word. It's okay, I'll just go. I'm sorry," Dick breathed, walking towards the doors. Harley clenched her jaw, her chin trembling. She snatched up her coat and Oscar yapped at her. She froze.

"Oh sorry." She picked up the dog, scratching behind his ears. Dick waited quietly beside the doors for her, the moon casting a glow on his face as he stared at the floor quietly. She turned and looked at him. "What?"

Dick looked up at her, gnawing on his lip. "Excuse me? I didn't say anything," he watched her sadly.

"Why are you still- oh." She looked down awkwardly. They were on the top floor, and she had no other way down. He nodded slowly.

"Yeah, don't worry, I promise it won't hurt you to touch me the six point five seconds it will take to get down to the street; after that we can go our separate ways," he muttered, running his hand through his hair. Harley scuffed her foot along the ground. She looked up at him, opened her mouth, and closed it, looking back down. She walked slowly over, patting Oscar's head as he sniffed her chin. She stopped beside Dick and glanced up at him unsurely. "Don't look at me like that," he smiled, closing the doors behind them, but the smile was forced. It vanished quickly. He wrapped an arm around her waist and grappled safely to the ground, putting her back on her feet. Dick hesitated, and then kissed her cheek. "Be safe. Please." The dog stretched out trying to sniff him.

Harley nodded. "I will. An'... I'm sorry. I… overreacted a little." She didn't want to push him completely away.

"You didn't. I shouldn't have crossed that line." Harley nodded, looking down at Oscar who blinked balefully up at her.

"So I guess," she cleared her throat, "goodbye?"

"Until next time, beautiful," he shrugged, backing away from her, his lip caught in his teeth.

"Bye, Wonder Boy!" she called "Try not ta run into anything more dangerous than me tonight!"

"There's not a thing in this city more dangerous than you," he whispered, and then disappeared into the dark.


	17. The One With All The Crushes

Ivy jolted when someone knocked on her door. She stared at it, unsure if she'd really heard it when the pounding came again. She groaned and tossed the blankets away as she rolled out of bed. She walked across the room and flung the door open, glaring at whoever it was. Harley beamed at her before ducking past her into the room.

"I need a favor."

"Can it wait until the sun is up?" Ivy grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"No. It's gotta be like five am right?" Harley glanced at the window. "That's reasonable ain't it?"

"No," Ivy said shortly.

"Maybe I should get a watch," Harley mumbled to herself. "But what would I set it against? Noon or something? I guess ya can kinda tell when noon is when the suns at the peak. I could just guesstimate it." She held her arm straight up as she leaned back, tongue between her teeth.

"What is that?"

"What is what?" Harley stared at her innocently, straightening back up.

"Why is there a dog in my apartment?" Ivy demanded. She glared at Oscar Mayer as he peeked his head around Harley's legs, tongue lolled out happily. Harley picked him up.

"This is Oscar Mayer, and he's the favor." She beamed hopefully.

"No."

"Please, Red," Harley begged. "Can he stay here just for a little bit?"

"No."

"But Mistah J said I couldn't keep him in our place," she whined. She held the dog out toward Ivy. He panted as he stared up at her and then licked his nose.

" _No_."

"Please, please, please?"

"No."

"But you can't send him back on the streets."

"No." Ivy winced at her reflexive answer as Harley cheered victoriously.

"See! So he has to stay here."

"Me misspeaking does not equal me giving permission for him to stay here," Ivy sighed and crossed her arms.

"Doesn't it?" Harley grinned, raising her eyebrow.

"No."

"Yes."

"No-and we are not starting this again," she cut over Harley.

"But we can't abandon him." Harley pouted, clutching the dog to her chest. Ivy stared at her for a moment before groaning and rubbing her hand across her eyes.

"A couple of days, just stop with the face."

Harley squealed happily and hugged her. "Thank you thank you thank you." She bounced up and down and set the dog on the ground to let him explore the apartment. "I brought some food. It's out in a bag in the hall." She skipped to the door.

"Because of course you knew I'd say yes," Ivy sighed. Harley grinned at her as she came back in and set about setting Oscar's stuff out.

"He's afraid 'a zombies an' vacuums, so you've been warned." She filled his water bowl and set it down in the kitchen. "He likes beef jerky so I dunno if he's gonna like your plant stuff. An' I'm pretty sure he's potty trained."

"Pretty sure?" Ivy demanded. "Only pretty sure?"

"Well he hasn't peed on my stuff." She shrugged.

"I am so going to regret this," Ivy muttered. "Where did you even get him?"

"In Uptown," Harley said nonchalantly. Ivy glared at her.

"And _why_ were you in Uptown?"

"I, uh, may or may not be able ta deny the fact that I was possibly there ta maybe see… Nightwing."

"Harls! We talked about this!"

"I know we did, okay? I know." She sank to the floor beside Oscar. "You get ta wander round Gotham whenever ya feel like it, so why can't I just see him every once an' a while?" The dog sniffed her fingers.

"You know why."

"Well he already knows so…" Harley shrugged, picking Oscar up. Then Ivy saw the bruises on her cheek.

"You covered them up with makeup didn't you?" she asked gently.

"He said he was sorry," Harley mumbled.

"And you still think seeing one of the Bats is a good idea?"

Harley laid down and let Oscar walk over her. "You see one 'a the Bats, and ya don't see me lecturin' you," she muttered.

"That's because you're more interested in hearing about Gotham than the consequences."

"How was it? Did ya see people? Did ya flirt with Red Hood again?"

"Stop it," Ivy scolded. "We're talking about you right now."

"Well there isn't a point in ya goin' to Gotham if I don't getta hear about it."

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't go see him again," Ivy persisted.

"We did! Kinda. I mean, I wasn't gonna go see him, but then I got bored. An' I hadn't even made up my mind if I was gonna talk to him when I fell, an' he caught me. So that kinda decided it for me."

"So...what? He's your knight in shining armor? Is that what this is about?"

"No," Harley protested. "We're just friends."

"Friends don't just sleep together."

"Don't they?" Harley smirked.

"No." Ivy glared down at her. "Seriously Harls, there are more dangerous things than the Infection."

"All right, all right. I'll be careful," she mumbled. "Jeez ya kill joy. No promises that I won't see him, but I'll try an' be careful."

"Ha, you careful," Ivy snorted.

"What? Careful's my middle name," Harley grinned.

"We're not done talking about this," Ivy warned.

"Fine, but can we talk about it later?" She sat up and hugged Oscar in her lap. "I wanna hear about Gotham."

Ivy sighed. "Are you hungry?" She moved into the kitchen.

"Is it beans?"

"Does it matter?"

Harley thought about it, her stomach rumbling. "Well it's no chocolate," she muttered. "Or cake! We should get cake."

"Yeah," Ivy scoffed, "let me know how that turns out for you."

"Ya don't hafta crush my dreams," Harley muttered, and Ivy ignored her.

'" _Did I tell you that I dream about you?'"_ Harley swallowed hard and let Oscar go to chase after Ivy. She knew she shouldn't let Dick kiss her so often, or allow his hands linger, or let her thoughts wander to him, but it was the same way she knew committing a crime was wrong, and criminals weren't the type of people she should be happy to have as friends, and that being with Joker wasn't the safest relationship she could be in. It was crazy, mad even, but she couldn't stop. Maybe it was the insanity of it all that drew her to it. But she knew she didn't want to stop. The same way she knew Joker knew just how close she'd gotten to Dick, that she shouldn't encourage Ivy to go into enemy territory, and that Joker had only been so harsh because he was trying to send Nightwing a message, and that she shouldn't let Dick develop any more feelings for her. She was dancing on a knife's edge and would have to fall one way or the other, but she was testing her balance for as long as she could.

"I should give you beans just because of the whole Nightwing thing let alone the dog," Ivy said, offering out a plate of grapes to Harley. "Can you make him stop following me?"

"Maybe ya smell good." Harley shrugged and popped a grape into her mouth. "Is there like a dog catnip? Maybe that's what ya smell like."

"Oh good, I'm appetizing to dogs," she muttered watching as Oscar sniffed her ankle.

"Well you are appetizing," Harley grinned, "does hunky Red Hood think so?"

"Who said he was hunky?" Ivy crossed her arms, glaring down at Harley.

"You did."

"I did not," she objected.

"Well it was something like that. So does he?"

Ivy pursed her lips, staring at her. "No." She turned away. Harley gasped.

"What?!" She jumped up, setting the plate on the table and away from Oscar. "Do ya like him?" She chased after Ivy. "Do ya? Do ya, do ya?"

"No. Stop it." She swatted Harley away.

"You _like_ him," Harley taunted.

"No I don't," Ivy snapped. "He's infuriating," she slammed a cabinet door, "with his pointless humor and plant jokes and his stupid mask."

"Ya do like him!" Harley cried triumphantly.

"How does any of the translate to me liking him?"

"I'm infuriating with pointless humor an' plant jokes." She shrugged. Ivy stared at her before groaning.

"You're useless."

"I know. I bet ya think Red Hood is too," she giggled. Ivy peered in the fridge, not looking for anything. "Have ya been flirtin' with him? I bet you have, ya hypocrite," Harley muttered.

"Only because the stupid moron won't bend to my tricks the way everyone else will. It's that stupid mask," she muttered before closing the fridge and glaring at Harley. "Sit and eat," she ordered, and Harley complied immediately. "I can't use my pheromones-not that I need them-but it's so infuriating and emotionless, and I can't tell what he's _thinking_ ," she continued ranting. "And the only time the buffoon will show emotion is to taunt me or… out seduce me." She made a frustrated noise, and Harley popped a grape into her mouth as she watched. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be outdone at your own game?" Harley pursed her lips and shook her head. "Exactly. I just want to strangle him with vines covered in thorns, _and then_ he has to go and be all nice to kids and defend me in front of people. Can you imagine how frustrating that is?"

"No," Harley answered honestly, watching Ivy pace in the kitchen.

"Eat," Ivy ordered, continuing her pacing; Harley shoved some grapes in her mouth. "And I haven't failed to get a man's attention since college, and maybe he's right. Maybe I do rely on my pheromones too much, and I _hate_ the fact that he's right. And I hate the fact that I can't get reaction out of him. And I hate the fact that I'm not succeeding at flirting with him, and I _hate_ the fact that I want to succeed in the first place. I don't _want_ to want to flirt with him, so why the hell am I doing it? What the hell? I know I shouldn't." She glanced at Harley who was beaming. "No."

"No one could _possibly_ -"

"-No, please stop."

"-know what it's like ta flirt-"

"-I really… Just please no," Ivy begged.

"-with one 'a the Bats-"

"-I take it back. I take it all back."

"-even though they know they shouldn't," Harley giggled. "Face it, you're in the same boat I am."

"No. I'm not," Ivy insisted.

"You're right. You're so much worse." Harley grinned. "Ya haven't even seen his face, an' your heads over heels for him, ain't ya? You _like like_ him!"

"No, I do not."

"Ivy an' Red Hood sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-"

Ivy put her hand over Harley's mouth. "You will stop, or I will make you stop," she warned. "Ew!" She released her face when Harley slobbered on her hand. Harley giggled.

"I'm just so happy that ya hate men, an' ya hate him, but ya _loooove_ him."

"I do not," Ivy groaned.

"I keep hearing no but if ya mean it, why does me bringin' it up bother ya so much? Because ya want him to like _yoouu_." She giggled again, and Ivy clenched her jaw as she stared down at her. She was saved from answering when someone yelled outside her window. "Jeez Louise," Harley jumped. "What was that?"

The two of them looked at each other before rushing for the window. Ivy flung it open, and they leaned out.

"...and they live like royalty!" someone was yelling from down the street. People were streaming past Ivy's apartment building and more were funneling from other streets. "They live in the tower looking down at us _peasants_!" a man continued to rant from the beginning of the mob. There was a cry of outrage from the marching crowd. "The only ones with power at the cost of _our_ lives! I bet they eat like pigs while we starve!" The people booed.

"I do not eat like a pig," Harley muttered. She ducked through the window and onto the fire escape.

"What are you doing?" Ivy hissed grabbing her arm.

"I wanna see."

"They're a mob. Against _you_. You need to stay in here," she insisted.

"But that sounds boring," Harley whined. "Can't I just go watch the rioters?" she begged. " _Please_." Ivy pursed her lips.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you, and you're staying out of sight."

"I'll consider your rules," Harley told her as she climbed out onto the fire escape. "Stay," she told Oscar who was sitting by the window and watching them. "An' don't eat my grapes." Ivy closed the window.

"I should lock you in my apartment," Ivy grumbled as they hurried down the fire escape.

"Sounds kinky, but no." Harley grinned at her as the caught up with the back of the crowd. "Besides, who has a riot at like five am? That's boring. Someone needs ta teach these guys what quiet hours are."

"There!" A young man with a ring through his nose, barely over twenty, cried as he pointed at Harley and Ivy behind the crowd. Heads swiveled to look at them before the shouting began.

"Oh great," Ivy muttered.

"I would like a word with whoever called me a pig!" Harley called. "Actually, my hammer would like a word with him."

"Do not provoke them," Ivy sighed. The crowd hesitated collectively, seemingly for an entire minute.

"Fascist!" a woman yelled from the back, and they charged. Everyone that approached Ivy froze, turned around, and formed a blockade against the rest of the crowd. Harley flipped over them and punched the woman who cried out in the face.

"Anyone who uses _that_ as a war cry, deserved that." She bounced out of the way as the people around her turned to react. She pushed off of a man's shoulders and flipped up to a fire escape, dangling upside down by her legs. "Don't make me come down there," she giggled. Ivy rolled her eyes.

"We starve while you live like royalty, you and the Joker!" An angry man shouted at her.

"Let's take her! Maybe the Joker will loosen his hold on all of the food he's hiding if we send him her head!" A massive woman screamed loudly from the windows of the building. Harley burst out laughing.

"I'd like ta see ya try. No really. I would." She tilted her head sideways, her pigtails dangling. "Who wants ta try first?" she taunted, grinning. "Come on. Make my day."

One of the taller men in the crowd suddenly leapt up and yanked on her pigtail, falling away from her again as the crowd gathered below where she hung from the fire escape.

"Not cool," she cried. She swung her legs off, landing on the man's chest. He hit the ground hard, and Harley crouched on his chest. She pulled her gun out and pressed it into his stomach. "See a headshot, you're down an' out. Gut shot, an' you're back for round two." The people closest to them took a wary step back.

"I'll starve to death soon enough anyway," he spat, glaring hatefully up at her. "So it's either I starve and turn slowly, or you shoot me and I get a quick death. I've got nothing to lose anymore. None of us do!" he shouted to the rest of the people- thugs and criminals; murderers, rapists, thieves and gangsters- all banding together like true members of their own dystopian society. "Do we have any family? No! Do those of us who have any family know that they're even _alive_ out there? No! We're never getting out of here!" The man screamed, and the crowd stirred in agreement around them. "So our only option is to survive! Kill her and take control! find our own food! We have to-" he choked off when Harley shoved her gun into his mouth.

"You're right," she told him. "None 'a us are ever gettin' outta here. Including me." She peered down at him. "So if ya think I won't do what it takes ta survive as well, that'll be the last thought runnin' through your head. So," she stood up, holding her gun up in the air, and stepping away from the man, "who wants ta come at me first?" she called to the crowd. "Who wants ta _try_ an' get me? I thought ya wanted ta survive!? I can promise ya, if ya try ta kill me, ya won't survive much longer."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Harley," Joker's voice carried over their heads as he came down the street, holding Nygma on his dog pole.

"Hiya Puddin!" Harley waved with her hand holding the gun. "Come ta join the party?"

"Quite the party to join, I see," he shouted, gradually gaining the attention of everyone in the mob. He glanced at Poison Ivy and grinned.

"I should have never opened the door this morning," she muttered.

"Lovely morning for an angry mob, huh?" Harley asked the Joker.

"Lovely," he agreed, staring at her for a moment, his eyes narrowed. He finally turned his attention to the crowd of gathered criminals, all growing restless again. "It's food you want?"

 _I've got a bad feeling about this_ , Ivy thought. She glanced over at Harley, but she was staring adoringly up at the Joker. A few people in the crowd shouted affirmatives as the Joker walked lithely up onto the hood of a car, leaving Nygma with Harley. Joker's pistol swung lazily in his hand as he turned to face the gathered men and women.

"So take it," he grinned. There was a general mumbling as people looked around in confusion.

"You're as crazy as they say!" someone yelled. Joker burst into a fit of laughter mad enough to send a chill down even the most hardened criminal's spine.

" _I'm_ the crazy one? _Me_? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, and honey-" he grinned down at the crowd before his eyes settled on Harley- "I _never_ do the same act twice. So why _are_ you all gathered here?" Joker called, spreading his arms as he smiled darkly at them.

"We're sick of _you_ living in the lap of luxury while we starve!" One man stepped forward. "We're not your _peasants_."

"Are we not all confined to these walls?" Joker looked down at him, cocking his head. The sun shining on his hair made it seem greener, like the grass that was so rare to see in Uptown Gotham. "So that's it then? You came to demand food?" Joker dropped down to sit on the hood of the car, grabbing Harley's pigtail and pulling her towards him. "What do you say, Doll, should we let them eat cake?" he threw Harley forward towards the crowd, laughing, just barely catching Nygma's dog pole before he could bite a member of the mob. "Go on, lop off the queen's head; a lot of good it will do you and your rebellion. As for food, there is none." Harley stumbled into the crowd and looked up at him.

"Puddin?"

The man who called out grabbed her arm. "You wouldn't let us kill her!"

"Of course not. No more than I'd let you kill me, or you'd let me kill you, or any of your other friends. The point of the matter is, even if I _did_ let you- what good would it do you?" He raised his eyebrows, looking like a psychiatrist with a troublesome patient.

"It'd wipe that stupid smirk off your face," he replied. Harley glared at him as she yanked her arm free. Joker's grin widened and he stared back at the man, his eyes narrowing.

"And yet again I ask, what is it you came here to accomplish?"

"We know you have food!" the man cried. "We saw the truck drive in! You're keeping it from us."

"Do you think I would _lie_? Yes, that food will be for distribution just as soon as you earn it," he grinned, looking around at the crowd.

"What are you talking about, clown?" the man asked.

"He just said he has the food!" a woman cried in in the crowd.

"We should take it!" The was a general mumbling of agreement.

"I said _take it,_ " Joker snapped as he stood and pressed the barrel of his silver pistol against the man's head. His voice was quiet, but so deadly that it seemed to be heard by everyone in the crowd. " _If_ you want it to be the last meal you ever have."

"So you do want us to die," the man sneered.

"I don't care one way or the other but I think you're all quite fond of your lives, so why would you want to starve? Think about it." He grinned, giving Riddler to Harley. She took hold of the pole distastefully. "If you want the food, take it. But where will you get more when the supply runs dry? Who's going to get more? _You?_ If you take the fish, fine, you eat for a day. But let me teach you to fish? You'll feast for the rest of your days."

"And why you?" the man demanded. "Who put you in charge?" Joker threw his head back and laughed.

"You did. You pathetic little meatsacks put me in charge when you refused to step up to the plate _yourselves,_ and lucky for you, you made the right choice." Spinning around, the Joker marched back to the car and stepped up onto the hood, walking clumsily onto the roof of it. "Since my survival is dependant on your survival, it looks like we're allies, and _that_ -" he spun on his heel, grinning down at the gathered criminals- "that, ladies and gents, is how wars are won. And we _are_ at war." Joker looked around at all of them, narrowing his eyes. "You're starving. Where do you think I keep getting the food for you?" he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty buildings lining the streets.

There was some quiet grumbling before a woman called out, "Gotham!"

"Somebody give the lady a prize!" Joker called, laughing. "If the food is there, but we're here- what's between it and you?" He demanded, pacing on the car roof.

"Batman!" A few people shouted, and Joker stopped.

"Bingo, ladies and gents-" he burst into laughter, grinning darkly. "He's trapped you all- _us_ all here- you believe you'll never see daylight outside of these walls again? Well who's fault is that? The world has changed, yet he's repeating the same tired cycle; lock up his problems here- us and these vermin-" he gestured with his pistol to Nygma snapping at the crowd- "but the very definition of _humanity_ has changed now! We're entitled to the food that they have, just as much as they are! We're _human_ aren't we?!"

"Yes!" they cried.

"More human than the Bats!" A man stepped forward.

"Exactly! The mindless people of the new Gotham revere the Bats as their Gods- saviors- but the masks hide what they truly are: less than human! We're entitled to that food- we're entitled to life just as much as they are! Their gods are weak, they bleed; I've drawn that blood with my own hands! Why _shouldn't_ we fight what is less than human!?" Joker screamed, his eyes flashing as he grinned at the crowd. Harley beamed at the Joker as she moved over to the car he was on. The crowd was getting riled up again.

"We shouldn't be treated like caged animals!"

"What gives them a right to Gotham?!"

"Exactly!" Joker jumped down from the car, landing in front of the man who'd been speaking for the crowd. "I think you and I have a lot to discuss." he grinned, throwing an arm around his shoulders, guiding him away. "Come! Get your shares of the food!" he called to the crowd. "The next round will be on the Batman!" Harley happily skipped after him, the rest of the crowd streaming along after her. Ivy shook her head and sighed as she watched her go.

* * *

"Focus," Jason said quietly. The meditation lesson had gone well, until Selina began to get restless. Now Jason could see why she would have tried even Bruce's patience. With his eyes closed, he could hear her shifting in her position, breathing unevenly; she sighed slowly and then blew a raspberry.

"Jason, I'm bored. We've been at it for hours now, and I don't know that I'm getting better," she sighed quietly and stood, pacing. "I can't- I just can't-"

"You're not getting any better, but you can do this," he told her, opening one eye to look at her.

"No I can't! Why do any of you think that I can do this? I may as well just live in that glass box for the rest of my life," she gnawed on her fingernails, turning to pace the length of the room again.

"You might as well if you keep this up." Jason shrugged.

"Thanks," she snapped, glaring down at him.

"What? You want me to lie to you and tell you that everything Bruce and I have taught you so far _hasn't_ been a waste of time?"

"No, I want you to _do_ something useful," she spat, leaning down to look in his face.

"I'm not the one who wants to be here," he argued.

"I don't want to be here! I don't _want_ to be in this whole stupid situation, I don't _want_ to learn how to meditate I control myself just fine thank you-" she shot a glare at Jason as he opened his mouth to counter her, and he closed it again. "But if I don't, I'll kill my husband in the heat of the moment. So I _have_ to be here. I don't _want_ to," she threw her hands up, groaning. "Just go away, Jason, you're not helping. Thanks for trying, but just get out."

"You're mad at me," he smirked.

"No, really?" she snapped. "Get out, Jason!"

"Would that make you feel better?" he taunted.

"Actually, it might! Why are you trying to provoke me?!" Selina wrapped her arms around her waist angrily, turning her back to him.

"Because how can you try and control an emotion if you're not feeling it?" he asked. "I mean, come on. It's so easy to sit here and breathe in and out when you're bored, but you want to be mad at me. And that's what Bruce doesn't get. He doesn't want to feel, but you," Jason leaned back on his hands, "you do. It's hard not to feel an emotion when you want to feel it, huh? _Now_ try meditating. Now that you want to be pissed, now that you don't want to meditate. Now try controlling yourself."

"I don't understand," she breathed, looking down.

"You want to be mad at me- let's face it, I'm infuriating- try controlling that. It's easy to be angry or upset because you want to be. That's why meditating is so hard. Not because you have to master breathing perfectly or listening to the wind, it's because you want to feel. Try again."

"I…" she sank down to the floor, closing her eyes. "I don't understand. How?"

"There's a couple methods. Bruce hides from it, suppresses the emotions. You can embrace them. Use the emotion to drive you, but I don't suggest it. Or you can work through it. Accept the emotion, but something is always more important. Learning to control yourself is more important than being mad at me. Not maiming your husband is more important than losing control, no matter how good it feels." He smirked a little. "And surviving is more important than any amount of sadness," he told her gently.

"Jason, about that…" Selina looked down, pained. "I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have-"

"-That's okay." He shrugged. "No judgement from me. Not then, not now."

Selina looked back up at him and reached out to stroke his cheek, smiling sadly. "It hasn't even been a year since then, but you're still so much older." her hand dropped away from his face and she sighed quietly, her head dropping to look down again.

When this had all started, her depression was a lot worse. She had never been suicidal, but that night, when Bruce left her for patrol, when she really realized that her dream- a beautiful house, family, all with _him_ \- it was dead; she'd lost control. Selina could still remember the blissful numbness and warmth of her blood rushing over her hands from her wrists before the panic had set in. The cold. She was already slipping away when she'd seen Jason burst in the door through her hazy vision, and then everything had gone black. When she'd come to with bandages wrapped around her wrists and a throbbing ache in her head, it had been Jason's furious face that she'd seen first. And she'd been angry. Angry that he'd saved her, and terrified of how angry that _Bruce_ would be when he walked in the door. Instead, as soon as they'd been left alone in their bedroom, Bruce'd screamed himself hoarse, scolding her, before breaking down in tears. She'd never seen him in such a fervor of emotion until then, and she hadn't since.

Selina shook her head a bit and met Jason's eyes. "I never knew you before… well I never met the you that you were before you died. But this one? Jason 2.0 isn't so bad," she smiled a little and stroked his cheek. "Someday everybody will see that. Thank you."

"Pity is an emotion."

"It's not pity, it's empathy," she insisted, smiling as she hit his knee. "Stop being such a jackass," Selina shook her head.

"It's kinda my natural setting." He shrugged, grinning. "Now get back to meditating, or Bruce is going to kick my butt." Selina sat back and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "So is it true you kept making the moves on old Batsy when he tried to teach you to meditate?"

Selina chuckled. "Why do you ask? I'm a married woman, Jason, and you're a bit too-" she opened one eye- "small for my tastes."

"Hey! Watch it kitty cat," he cried. "I'm doing you a favor here, no need to be mean. And I wasn't asking for _those_ reasons. I just wanted to fact check on why I got stuck with this job."

"Yes, that's why. Also because I can do-" in what seemed like a split second she had lunged forward and her lips were right next to his ear- " _this_." Selina laughed, falling back on her heels and grinning.

"Right," Jason blinked in surprise, "zombie speed. So zombie speed, zombie emotion, this is going to be interesting." He looked at her seriously. "You're getting a little excited, emotion check."

"I'm not excited, I'm happy," she frowned. "And I don't always feel like this. As a matter of fact, I hardly do, so why am I not allowed to have _any_ emotion?"

"You are," he laughed. "In moderation. If your downs are extreme, then your highs will be too. Which is fine, until the high is gone. Then you have a long way to fall," he pointed out.

"That's… a scary thought, Jason," she whispered, looking down.

"No it's not," he assured her. "It's great to know you have the capacity to feel… that much, and I don't think this family is the best example on how to handle that. But _you_ need to be careful Selina. I've seen you crash," he reminded her. "We both know it's not good. You need to learn to recognize the good the same way you need to recognize the bad."

"Have you ever felt that blissful, Jason? Pure elation… why would you want to give that up?" she asked, sounding desperate.

"I have." He nodded slowly. "And then I died." He shrugged nonchalantly. "That's the thing about it. You don't choose to give it up. You don't choose for Bruce to leave you every time, but we've both seen how that can crush you. I'm not saying don't be happy with him, but you have to be in control just as much when you're happy as when you're sad."

"Okay," she nodded, her voice quiet.

"Be happy," he stressed, "but you did lose control and bite him that one time. Do you get my point?"

"I understand. Be happy, just not _too_ happy." She pulled her knees to her chest, looking down. "I'll have to keep practicing."

"But that's why I'm here." He studied her downcast face. "Emotion check."

"Stop doing that!" She cried in exasperation, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry," he put his hands up in surrender, "I thought we were here to help you control your emotions."

"Control them, not expel them," Selina whimpered.

"Do you feel like you're in control right now?" he asked gently. "I know this isn't easy, and that it sucks, but you've got to do it."

"I don't want to," she buried her face in her arms. "I'm _not_ in control. Help me," Selina whispered sadly. "I can't do it…"

"Hey," Jason grabbed her hand, "I will. One step at a time, okay? Deep breath. You don't need to feel helpless. You're not going through this alone. You've got this." Selina looked up at him.

"Okay. I can… I've got this," she agreed weakly, again crossing her legs and sitting up straight, closing her eyes. She took a slow, steady breath.

"You need to do this for you," he told her. "Not for anyone else- even Bruce- you. Got it? You need to want to control this, not because you think it's the right thing to do, but because _you_ want to be in control. This is your life, Selina. Don't let one accident dictate it."

 _You're right_ , she thought, focusing harder. "I can do this."

"Well I've never doubted you," Bruce said from where he was standing in the doorway. Selina's eyes flew open and she grinned, jumping to her feet.

"You're late," she squealed, throwing her arms around him.

"And I thought we were making some progress," Jason sighed, standing up. "You were right. It's hopeless when you're around." He shot Bruce a grin.

"How was it?" he asked, kissing Selina on the forehead.

"It was good," Selina smiled at Bruce and then glanced at Jason, her smile wavering a bit. _Keep your emotions in check._ "I learned a lot. No offense, but Jay is just a better teacher."

"Ha, the obvious truth." Jason smirked. "Well, I'll get back to patrol." He clapped Bruce on the shoulder. "And remember what I talked to you about." He gave him a meaningful look. Bruce nodded.

He'd approached Jason about helping Selina because he knew Jason was just as mastered at meditation as him, if not more so. Even if he didn't act like it. Jason had wanted to talk to him too, about Ivy. He thought Ivy could be swayed or convinced to help them after his time with her. Bruce wasn't so sure. Even now he was hesitant, especially if Jason was showing interest in her. He watched Jason head toward the elevators. Selina touched his face and made him turn towards her, smiling.

"Penny for your thoughts, Mr. Wayne," she purred, stroking his cheek.

"You look lovely," he told her. "How has returning to your patrols been?"

"Exhilarating. Something I've missed. Though it's a pity that you won't let me go with you anymore," she giggled, biting her lip as she looked up at him.

"I believe I have been told multiple times that I distract you." He closed the door and pulled her with him to the bed where he nudged Alfred the cat out of the way and dropped down. He yawned a little as he pulled her close. "We'll have patrols together again soon," he promised her. Selina stood up again.

"Good. And as far as I knew, the feeling of distraction is mutual," she smiled as she walked to the windows, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Absolutely," he agreed. He took his cowl off and ran a hand across his eyes.

"Tired, my love?" Selina watched his reflection in the windows, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she smiled a little. It was warm in the sun, and it felt comfortable and safe. She felt serene. _Thank you, Jason._

"Nothing I can't handle." He stretched, pulling his gloves off.

"Yes, and that's what worries me," Selina smirked at him over her shoulder.

"I thought I was the one who was supposed to worry?" The cat leaped back up on the bed and curled up on Selina's pillow.

"Well you do a good job of hiding it if you do," Selina smiled nonchalantly, turning back to the windows as she pulled her shirt over her head. After a moment, she felt his arms wrap around her waist.

"I worry about you all day every day," he whispered in her ear. "I worry about all of the boys and Cass and Steph. I worry nonstop until I can see you." He kissed her cheek. "And then I worry some more."

Selina turned her head towards his lips on her cheek as she closed her eyes, leaning against his strong chest behind her. "I love you," she breathed, placing her arms over his around her waist and stroking his hand.

"I love you too." He kissed her gently. "And I'm happy you're around to worry about."

"It's just a pity you're hardly around to worry," she smiled a little, her lips brushing his. He smiled.

"I know it's an absolute crime. Someone should let Batman know pronto."

"I think I will," Selina smiled, turning in his arms, her hands caressing his face, "but Catwoman may have to cuff you until he gets here. Just to make sure you can't escape," she giggled, licking her lips.

"Catwoman," he pretended to scoff. "I think I can take her." He smirked.

Selina raised her eyebrows in disbelief, a grin breaking over her face. "You haven't been able to up until now. What makes you think you'll get away with it this time?" she took a step forward, shoving him back towards the bed before tucking her fingers in the waistband of her shorts, smiling playfully.

"I can't get off on bad behavior?" he asked as he grinned, grabbing her arms.

"Not a chance," she giggled, stepping closer to him. She kissed the corner of his lips and then hooked her leg around his knees, forcing him to fall back on the bed as she laughed, falling with him.

"Then I take it back." He leaned up to kiss her. "Catwoman can take Batman anytime she wants." Selina moaned as she kissed him, her hands tightening in his cape as she pulled him closer.

"Any time, every four days, for twenty four hours," she teased, releasing him in order to sit up and pull her shorts off. Selina straddled Bruce's waist and kissed his chin. "You got mad at me last time I slipped out to the field to see you. Even then, you couldn't resist slipping into my pants," She smiled against his lips, looking in his eyes, so pale they almost seemed white. "So not _anytime_ I want."

"Maybe that was just wishful thinking," he murmured, kissing her gently. His hands ran up her hips and up her sides, pulling her down to him. Selina grinned, arching her back into his touch and reaching behind herself to unclip her bra. She tossed it aside before kissing Bruce passionately, her hands returning to his face to hold him closer. His soft hair peppered with gray sifted through her fingers as she kissed him again. He ran his hands over the exposed skin on her back. "I thought you were supposed to be taking me into custody."

"Mhmm," she mumbled, kissing his jaw. "And you should be getting some sleep so you don't die of exhaustion," Selina smiled and bit his neck gently, and then kissed his shoulder. "Don't see that happening."

"Well then I've found Catwoman's only weakness," Bruce smirked. He grabbed her thigh and rolled them over, pressing his hips against hers as he kissed along her neck.

Selina moaned, clawing at his belt before she frantically pulled it off and threw it aside, pulling the torso of his suit up. Her fingers traced up his abs and pulled the fabric higher. "Did you get me pink diamonds? I love pink diamonds," she gasped, closing her eyes.

"No, but I'll get you all the diamonds you want." He ran his hands up her arms, kissing both corners of her mouth. "I'll get you anything you want."

"Anything," she said thoughtfully, pulling the torso of his suit over his head. Her hands traced along the well defined lines of his muscular chest and down his abs. "I want a nice sandy beach. I want to get drunk on a beach with you, and I want to lay in the sun and go sailing- I want _you_ and _me,_ and I want to be happy and relaxed and safe and living in luxury. Still think you can pull that off, Batman?" Selina smiled, pressing her lips against his shoulder.

"Maybe not today," he grabbed her hand and kissed it, "or tomorrow," he kissed up her arm, "or the next day," he stared into her eyes, "but I will always try to give you anything you want. No matter how long it takes."

She grinned and laughed, cupping his face and pulling him closer to kiss his lips gently. Selina sighed against his lips. "Thank you." Her hands trailed up his arms, feeling over his muscular shoulders.

"For better or worse, right?" His arm slid under her back, holding her against him.

"For better or worse," she agreed quietly.


	18. The One Where Dick Has To Choose

Dick didn't know what to think. It was his break, and he didn't want to spend it suffering with his thoughts alone in his room like the only college finals week he'd ever endured. Some sleep was in order; his head was still reeling from Harley's and his own confliction, though he smiled in spite of himself at the thought of her.

"Pleasant time?" A voice asked from the darkness of the room as he entered, it's owner sitting at the table, silhouetted in the muted daylight streaming in the panoramic windows. Dick froze.

"Damian." He relaxed. "What are you doing here?" Dick asked pleasantly, his eyes exhausted. "You should leave, I'm not in the mood-"

He was cut off when Robin stood and slammed his wingding into the wooden surface of the table. The blade caught the light, and Dick wasn't smiling anymore.

"It's not what you think," he said firmly. The last time he'd seen the weapon, it had been lodged in the eye socket of a day old Infected victim.

When he and Harley had crossed into Midtown.

"Really? Because I think you're a self-destructive masochist who's found an enabler, and I think she's a neglected hybristophiliac who's found another fixation," Robin snapped. Nightwing let out a short breath.

"Damn, Damian," he scoffed, but he didn't move from the door.

"Stop this. _Now._ Before you get yourself- or one of us- hurt." His tone was commanding, his voice almost a carbon copy of his father's.

"Come on, kid. You can't tell me what to do," Dick laughed, finally walking away from the bedroom door to the bed, taking off his jacket.

"I can when I'm the only sane one around here. I thought if I let you get it out of your system, work through whatever it is you feel for her, you'd eventually taper off. I can see that's not the case, now."

"It doesn't mean anything," Dick muttered.

"Yes it does. You get a high from it, don't you?" Damian said furiously. "You want it because she's at the top five of Gotham's most dangerous. There's an adrenaline there. A euphoria. But it won't last, Dick, and you know what happens then. What happens when you need a better fix? You going to go after someone more dangerous?"

"I said it doesn't mean anything," he snapped, feeling anger welling in his chest. Robin was right, but he wasn't mad because of that.

"Sure it doesn't _now_. But what feeling is going to replace that high? What's more emotionally thrilling than trusting a murderous psychopath with your life?"

Dick turned on him angrily. "Don't say it-"

"-trusting her with your heart. I've seen it happen with you. You're going to fall for her, Dick, maybe you already have. So I'm warning you- get out now."

"It's not like that," he spat. Damian crossed his arms and waited for Dick to explain. "Yeah, I've been talking to her. Yeah, we've had some… closer encounters, and maybe- _maybe-_ it is a bit thrilling to get out of my comfort zone like that, but I _know,_ okay? I know nothing will come of it, I know that nothing will happen."

"No you don't." Robin took his mask off, his jaw set angrily. "Let's examine the possibilities. You seem set on fucking the Joker's girl, so let's flesh out what happens next." Damian walked towards him, walking around Dick as if scrutinizing a less than pleasing sculpture in a gallery. "This continues. You'll grow to care for her. Chemicals in the brain released during sex make that inevitable. You'll start to like her, maybe even love her. She doesn't love you. She _can't._ A diagnosed hybristophilia, along with abandonment and neglect issues caused by an absent father and a verbally abusive mother, make it impossible for her to be satisfied in a normal way. She might even get off on the violence. She's the Joker's perfect cocktail of crazy." Dick closed his eyes, trying to control his anger.

"I don't want to hear this," he muttered, and Damian talked over him.

"So why's she with you? Maybe the Joker just doesn't satisfy. Pure psychopaths don't really have _that_ _kind_ of sexual drive, so it makes sense. Then she sees you, Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome, and she sees it." Damian stopped in front of him, glaring up at his brother. Dick met his eyes, his lips pressed together furiously. "She sees the thing she's been looking for- a release, in the form of a self-destructive, reckless, dangerous individual with a painted-on smile. Sound like anyone else we know?" Damian smirked, walking back to the wingding in the table. Dick scoffed quietly, but he couldn't stop the words from sinking in.

"So you're now mutual parasites; she feeds off of your newly discovered rebellious streak and taste for danger, and you feed off of the danger she provides. It's a sick little cycle isn't it? It's not love, it's narcotics."

"Stop," Dick breathed, sitting down on the bed slowly. He was more angry and hurt than he'd been when he arrived, his head reeling.

"Let's take it a few weeks, maybe even _months_ , down the road," Damian continued, running a thumb along the sharp blade of the wingding. "You'll fall for her. That's inevitable. But she doesn't fall for you. Now you have your weekly sexual outlet, your secret romance, and that's what drives _you_. The thrill of meeting Juliet over the garden wall, in the dead of the night. But what drives her?"

"Damian-"

"- _He_ does. She won't keep it a secret, no matter how hard she tries; whether she tells him, he finds out on his own, or he beats it out of her. Now she gets _her_ sexual outlet, one the Joker just can't quite satisfy, but he also gets whatever he wants. Information? Perhaps. Shift rotation schedules deduced from when you meet her, and suddenly he has his hands in Gotham again. And that… _that's_ something that _she_ can get off on. All she wants is to please _him_ , so she gets a high knowing that you're riding _her_ and not doing your _goddamn job_ , and giving her _whatever_ she _wants!_ " he shouted. "And what _she_ wants, is for the Joker to have anything he wants, because maybe, just _maybe_ that will stop the beatings. Maybe that will make him love her!"

"That's enough!" Dick cried, on his feet in a second. His breathing was ragged, his eyes wide in anger. In fear.

"Fine," Damian spat. "Let's examine the other option. If you get your way, and she falls in love with you. Maybe she's not as crazy as we think. Maybe she never was, and the Joker is the only thing she has. She knows she has no _choice_ but to stay with him, and maybe he _makes_ her. He can't love her, no, he doesn't have the capacity to, and suddenly… suddenly here's this dark knight, a prince of Gotham, one of the _only people_ in this dystopian setting that can forgive her sins and take her away from the Joker. Hell, it happened to Catwoman, why not _her_?"

"Damian, you're right though; why _not_ her?!" Dick cried, interrupting him again. "You haven't seen her like I have. I'm getting to know her, but she _isn't_ who we thought she was! Maybe we can help her!"

"No, and I'll tell you why," Damian sneered. "Catwoman made her own decisions."

"So does Harley."

"She _doesn't_. You _know_ who makes her decisions for her, and she will _never_ get away from him. He doesn't love her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't _belong_ to him. Catwoman didn't have anything holding her back. When Father asked, she could make the decision to stay with him or remain a criminal, and she had the power to choose." Damian walked to the windows, looking out over Gotham. "So maybe she falls in love with you, and she chooses _you._ She can come live here, in Wayne Tower, and watch the city burn with you as a result of your decisions, because the Joker is _never_ going to let that happen." He turned to look at Dick again. "If she chooses you, she starts a war."

"Damian… I can't believe this. You think you can lecture me on love? Have you ever even kissed someone?" Dick muttered, looking down. It was a feeble attempt at misdirection, he knew, but he didn't want to listen to this anymore. He knew he was in the wrong here.

"I think I can lecture you on strategy," Damian corrected. "You're all worthless at truly thinking ahead, but this is worse than Red Hood eating more than he's rationed, or Catwoman nearly killing Father in a fervor. You're playing with explosives, and you're gonna take us all out with you. If she doesn't love you, then she's using you. She's a spy, and what you give her will get us all killed. If she does love you- then she's Helen of Troy, and we'll all die in the crossfire. You can't win, Grayson."

Dick didn't say anything, looking down at his boots as he again sat down on the bed. Damian was right.

"And what do you think happens if we wind up dead?" Robin asked, putting his mask back on.

"Gotham falls."

"Very good, Richard. Unless you stop this now, you, her, your family, your _city_ \- all that destruction will be on your hands. It's better this way."

"And If I don't?" Dick asked. "If I think I can pull this off, and save everyone? What if I don't believe you?"

"Then I'll let Father try to convince you." Robin shrugged, walking towards the exit. He'd made his point, but he paused at the door. "Just know this; if you choose to continue walking this thin line between a fantasy world and the one that you're needed in, the _real_ world, you're going to fall. No matter how practiced you are at the high wire, Grayson, you're going to fall and drag the rest of us down with you. It's inevitable." Dick opened his mouth to speak, but Damian held up his hand to silence him. "It may be in the next five years, it may be in the next five hours. But you _will fail._ " Dick looked down and closed his eyes. "Choose one side or the other, while you still can, lest you lose both, and _before_ you have to pick which way to kill us all. And Richard-" Dick glanced back up. "Choose _wisely_."

Robin's cape swept around his ankles as he left the room, the door clicking closed quietly behind him. Dick tore his mask off and threw it down on the table, accidentally catching his hand on the blade of the wingding still embedded in the surface. He cried out and looked at the blood on his hand. Furiously yanking the weapon out of the wood, Dick launched it across the room and heard it hit the wall in the bathroom as he turned around and began pacing. Damian was right. This 'fantasy world' that he was living in with Harley; their little home at the hotel, their passionate encounters- it wasn't real. It never would be.

 _How could it be?!_ Dick thought angrily, running his hand through his hair. _She's with the Joker. She tells you that, hell; you can see it, you just don't want to._ Someone rapped softly on his bedroom door, but he didn't hear it, pacing the length of the room. Dick knew that everything that Damian had said was true. Harley couldn't love him, and he didn't love her. It was a dream that he'd gotten lost in, invented in his head, and she was insane. Of course she played along. It was never real, and he now felt foolish for ever feeling what he had felt.

 _What I still feel,_ he thought angrily, shaking his head. _I can't believe this._ The knock came again. Dick glanced at the door, unsure if he'd really heard it, and then continued his pacing. He _knew_ it was wrong. He _knew_ it was fake. He _knew_ it was _insane._ Yet he still craved her touch with every thought that he had. Dick closed his eyes, imagining her kiss on his lips, before he pressed his thumb into the cut on his hand, the pain stopping his daydreaming.

Someone pounded on the door and he was torn from his thoughts, storming over to open it. "I'm on break, damn it-" he snapped, before realizing that it was Barbara. "Oh. Hi. I didn't… sorry, I thought you were Damian," Dick smiled a little, leaning against the door, his arm above his head.

"Whoa, what'd he do to make you mad?" she asked, smiling back.

"Nothing. He can rub even me the wrong way sometimes, you know?" Dick stepped back to let her in. "Did you need something?"

"I thought we should talk." Barbara stepped into the room. "Things have still been pretty awkward between us."

"You're telling me," Dick laughed, shoving a hand in his pocket. "Would you like to sit?" he gestured to the chair by the table, and then moved the heap of clothes on it out of the way.

"No, I'm, uh…" She looked awkwardly at the chair. "How have you been? How are patrols?"

"They're fine," he cleared his throat. "Like any other day, really. Just less mob bosses, more zombies," Dick smiled. She frowned.

"You know we don't want people calling them zombies."

It took him a moment to register what she'd said. "Right. Infected, sorry," he trailed off, looking down.

"You used to be really big into viewing them as people, not monsters," Barbara reminded him. "Did _she_ change that?" Dick's head snapped up, his jaw tight.

" _No._ She hasn't changed _anything._ And if that's why you came here, then you can leave, because there's nothing to talk about," he said calmly, watching her. Barbara flinched back.

"Yeah, she obviously hasn't changed anything. We used to be friends." She crossed her arms. "Now I guess we _don't_ have anything to talk about." Dick was quiet.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Babs. I just… I don't know what to tell you."

"I just… I want to know why," she mumbled. "Why her?" _When did it stop being me?_

Dick scoffed quietly, sinking into the chair. "Because she was there? Because I was… because you'd just told me that we were just friends, I guess?" _Because I was lost and stupid and rash, and I didn't think first._

"So since I said I wasn't interested you decided to fling yourself at the nearest psychopath?" She took a deep breath. "How often do you two meet? Is it like a date?"

"No, Babs it's not-" Dick groaned in frustration, rubbing his temples. "It's not like that. It's not dating, it's not… she calls us friends. That's it."

"And what do you call the two of you?" she asked. "Because the last time you were 'friends' with someone, turns out you wanted more."

"Yeah, I did," Dick looked up at her seriously. "But she shot that one down pretty quick without any consideration, even though it sounds like now… _now_ she's _jealous._ " He stood slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not… _jealous_ ," she scoffed, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "I'm just… worried about you. You never think things through."

"You're right, I don't, but you always over think things enough for the both of us. And you're jealous," he added casually, hiding a smile.

"I'm not jealous," she snapped. "Maybe jealous of how fast you can move on."

"That's directly related to how long I waited with no new outcome," he pointed out, stepping closer to her. "Who's fault is that?"

"Because you gave me, what, a _day_ to process that you had feelings for me?" she reminded him. "You wait a year to tell me you want to be more than friends, and then nothing? Two days later you're chasing after the Joker's girlfriend?"

"I _always_ wanted to be more than friends, Barbara, I thought you'd remember that," Dick laughed, shaking his head. "Seriously, did you come here to harp on me about Harley, or did you need something?" he asked. "It's the start of my break, and I'd really like to shower and get cleaned up."

"Except now," she muttered. " _Now_ you don't want to be more than friends."

"When did I say that?"

"When you told me to forget about it! When you told me that you moved on because of _Harley Quinn_." She glared at him. "And don't tell me that didn't ruin our friendship _more_ than you telling me you still had feelings for me because you don't talk to me since you've started seeing her. You don't visit. You don't want to see me anymore. So if _that_ means you want to be more than friends, then I guess dating has changed a lot since the last time I was in a relationship."

"I'm sorry Barbara. I don't visit because I can't trust myself. You want to be friends, and regardless of anyone else interfering, Harley Quinn or that scientist in the labs; I _do_ want to be _more._ I've been busying myself with patrol, with supply- which reminds me-" Dick reached into his utility belt and took out the remaining Kit-Kat bars for her. Barbara looked down at them. She put her hands over his.

"If you don't trust yourself, can you at least trust me?" She looked up at him. Dick met her gaze seriously.

"Always."

"Good." Barbara hesitated for a second before stretching up and kissing him. Dick blinked in surprise and hesitantly kissed her back, his hand coming to rest on her waist. It was familiar, and he closed his eyes slowly. They'd done this quite often in the past year, seeking the familiarity as comfort, neither one ever wanting more from the other than satisfaction. Her kiss was different this time and he relaxed into it, pulling her closer. Barbara knew he'd always been there for her, even liked her more than she liked him from the day they met, but the thought of him moving on now scared her. With how everything else had changed in the past year, she didn't want to lose him too. She just hadn't known it until he'd already moved on. Because she could see it, he _was_ moving on.

She stood up on tiptoe, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him again. Dick kissed her back, smiling as he snaked his arms around her waist and lifted her onto the toes of his boots. He held her close, savoring the taste of her lips. Barbara sighed at the familiar sensation of his smile against her lips. She grabbed onto his shoulder, her other hand trailing along his back muscles hugged by his tight shirt. Dick's hand tightened at her waist as the other cradled her face. His fist bunched in the fabric of her shirt, pulling it up at her hip, and he kissed her harder, biting her lip. She gasped, her hand tightening on his shoulder. She traced her other hand along his side, letting it come to rest on his chest. Her gesture calmed him a bit, and she could feel him reigning himself in. Dick kissed her gently, passionately; it was warm in his embrace, and he suddenly lifted her off of her feet, holding her in his arms as they kissed. She worked his tight Nightwing suit up his chest, her fingers skimming over his abs as her tongue sought his. Dick moaned softly, carrying her to his bed and laying her down gently, kneeling above her as he pulled his Nightwing suit over his head. He bent down to kiss her again, his hands sliding under her shirt as he closed his eyes. He could feel the warmth of her skin and the scar on her stomach from the Joker's gun as his hands trailed up her waist; her familiar scent surrounded him, her lips so inviting and so welcoming. She tasted like home, and yet…

Dick pinched his eyes closed, imagining the ivory skin under his hands, two-tone hair falling over the pillows; blood scarlet and as black as the night sky.

He gasped, his lips parting from Barbara's for a moment as he looked at her, taking in every detail of her warm skin, her freckled nose and green eyes, her soft red hair framing her face. Dick panted as he leaned down to kiss her passionately again, pulling her hips against his. Barbara gasped in surprise, her hands reaching up to cup his face.

"Dick," she breathed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against her lips, blushing a bit. He kissed her gently. She closed her eyes. She could feel it in the way he moved; he'd been a lot closer to Harley Quinn than he'd let on. She knew every bit of his body, but not the new way he moved. That hurt more than she'd wanted to believe it could.

Turning quickly, she pushed him over, sitting on his hips. She slowly undid his utility belt.

"Babs," Dick sighed quietly, his hands trailing up her arms lovingly to pull her back to his lips as he kissed her slowly. Barbara felt a thrill run through her, and she smoothed her hands across his chest. She could almost pretend it was like before, like nothing had happened. Before any Infection or madness. Just her and Dick. She sat back up and pulled her shirt over her head before leaning back down to kiss him again. His hands moved hungrily over her skin, coming to rest on the small of her back where his thumb traced over the exit wound scar on her spine. Dick kissed her harder, pulling her closer, his hand slipping down the back of her jeans.

 _If only you'd let me tell you that I still had feelings for you too_ , Barbara thought, _before you went out and got over me_. Her hands grabbed his face as she kissed him back, her body pressed against his. Dick held her closer, pulling her pants off before sitting up with her in his lap. He cradled her body in his arms and kissed her lovingly.

Even as he held her so tenderly, he knew it wasn't the same. All he wanted to do was try. Try to pretend that nothing had changed. He'd always loved her. So why did it suddenly feel like a lie? His fingers trailed down her spine again and came to rest on the soft skin at her hips, and he smiled a little in her kiss against his lips before stopping to breathe for a moment. His words were muffled by her lips when he spoke, and he laughed quietly. "I have always loved you," Dick whispered softly, stroking her cheek.

"And it just took me longer to realize the same," Barbara murmured. She kissed him sweetly as her thumbs caressed his jaw.

"That's ok. I'm experienced at waiting," he smiled lovingly and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Thank you." She kissed him again, pushing him down against the mattress. Dick laughed, pulling her down with him and kissing her neck as his hands wrapped in her hair, his lips soft and deliberate on her skin. For a moment, he almost felt guilty. Until he remembered Harley's furious insistence that she and the Joker were together. She may as well have told him that it would never happen, and she practically had. His attraction to Harley was nothing if not returned, but it was never meant to be. _And,_ he thought, his hand sliding down Barbara's shoulder pulling her bra strap down, _if Babs loves me… then what more do I need?_ Barbara couldn't help but to respond to his touch, smiling into the kiss as she ran her hands down his sides to his hips. Dick kissed down her neck gently, turning and pressing her down to the blankets on the bed, bracing one arm beside her head as he did. His other hand remained at her waist, his thumb tracing lazy circles on her skin. He kissed her collarbone.

"You're welcome, Batgirl," he finally said, kissing the hollow of her throat. She moaned weakly at the feel of his lips. She reached up to tangle her hands in his hair. Dick's hips pressed against her as he leaned down to kiss over her shoulder, one hand gripping her leg and pulling it around his waist as the other held her cheek. His breathing spiked. It was Barbara's hands in his hair, but it was Harley's touch- he knew that it was Barbara's breath gasping past her lips, but he longed to hear Harley's. _Get out of my head,_ he thought furiously, suddenly kissing Barbara hard, his arm slipping under her back as he pulled her against him. Barbara blinked in surprise but didn't say anything as she kissed him back.

Just when she could forget their problems, he'd do something that reminded her that he'd moved on. That he'd changed. She couldn't help wondering the whole time if she was the one he was really thinking of, or if someone else's touch was on his mind. He said he'd always loved her, but that didn't mean he was _in_ love with her anymore.

* * *

Barbara watched him sleep, tracing her thumb along his jaw. She'd been unable to relax enough to fall asleep beside him unlike the other times, and she'd laid awake the whole night. It hadn't felt the same. Dick breathed slowly and steadily. She remembered when there was a time when she'd watched him breathe like that, knowing that as long as he did, she would be there. When she'd known that every breath he took was for her. Now...

"Harley..." Dick breathed, his brow furrowing as he reached up and caught Barbara's hand, opening his eyes groggily. He smiled a little. "Babs. Morning," he yawned, kissing her hand before stretching. She looked down at their hands, twisting her free hand around a strand of hair. He'd said _her_ name once before while he was sleeping. Harley's name on his lips so quiet like a sigh she'd wanted to pretended she hadn't heard it. But she had, and she knew she wasn't who he dreamt about anymore.

"Morning, Boy Wonder. How'd you sleep?"

"Better with you here," he smiled, blinking sleepily.

Barbara smiled gently. "We... shouldn't do this anymore."

Dick sat up in surprise, looking at her, suddenly more awake and alert. "What? We shouldn't... Why? But I thought you said-"

"-Because in spite of what you said, you do just want to be friends. You just don't want to admit it to yourself."

"I don't understand," he ran his hands through his hair. She looked down and sighed.

"Look at me," she cupped his face, "look at me and tell me you still love me."

Dick stared at her in shock.

"I..." He watched her, his mouth opening a little as he sighed quietly. He took her hand, holding it against his face as he looked down and closed his eyes. "I _want_ to. I do. I love you. I can honestly say that I just... It doesn't feel the same. Does it?" He looked up at her, his pale blue eyes saddened.

"You love me, but you're no longer in love with me," she clarified. "I guess I expected it," she shrugged. "Even before all of… this," she glanced around his room, "we were outgrowing each other. It was bound to happen." The words tasted bitter in her mouth. Dick looked down, still holding her hand in his. His thumb trailed over a scar on her ring finger as he examined her slender fingers and pale hands.

"But I want to," Dick looked up at her sadly. "I don't..." He sighed slowly, running a hand through his hair. "I want to love you. I want to be with you. So why can't I?" Dick watched her sadly. Barbara looked at him seriously.

"Because I'm not her."

"No." Dick said firmly. "I'm not in love with her. I don't even… I _can't_ love her."

"Since when has it being someone you can't love stopped you from falling in love?" she countered, pushing her bra strap that slid down back up.

"Babs please- I don't want to. I just want…" Dick looked down. In all honesty, he didn't even know what he wanted. He knew he couldn't love Harley, and he knew that she didn't love him. He also knew that Barbara loved him, but he, for some reason, couldn't love her anymore. Dick _wanted_ to love her. He wanted to be happy with her and hold her and tell her that he loved her- but he couldn't, and he couldn't figure out _why_.

 _Of course, you know. She just said it. It's because of_ her. Dick shook his head, hiding his face in his hands. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," he said quietly. Barbara let out a short laugh.

"Trust me, those words were not as comforting as you wanted them to be." She rubbed her eyes, the exhaustion weighing on her. "But we can't keep pretending this is something that it's not," she said bitterly. _I can't keep pretending that you're something that you're not. Not anymore._ "And you can't keep pretending that that relationship isn't something it's not."

Dick stared down at the sheets through his fingers. _Not like this._ "I'm sorry, Babs," he said softly, and then looked up at her. "I wish…" Dick pursed his lips and looked down at his hands on the comforter again, sighing softly. "I want to say that I'll come back. That this is just some… some phase, like Kori or… or Helena; I want to promise you that I'll eventually be yours again but…" his eyes lifted to meet hers again sadly. "But I can't ask you to wait for me. I wish I could ask you to hold me in your heart, like you've done for _years_ -" he rubbed his face in frustration and groaned- "but I can't do that to you. I don't _want_ to do that to you, because I still-" Dick stared at her, cutting off his own words. _I_ do _still love you._ He didn't finish the sentence. _But you're right. It's not love like it used to be._

"It's not like there's that many dating options out there. _Clearly_ considering who you've found." She rolled her eyes. "You sure can pick 'em."

"He abuses her," Dick whispered quietly, not looking up. Barbara watched him carefully.

"Oh, God," she groaned. "You know we've had family meetings about that puppy dog expression." She glanced at her watch. "You have half a day to kill till your patrol. Get cleaned up, get sorted out, and- I cannot believe I'm condoning this- go find her and," she waved vaguely, "stop being so sad about it."

"I'm so sorry Barbara," he stared at her, his eyes so hurt and so incredibly earnest. He knew that she was probably horribly wounded by this; he knew that she'd wanted to love him as much as he wanted to love her, if not more so. He also knew what that _felt_ like. "I know how this… how all of this must seem and I know how it feels and… I wouldn't wish that on anyone, least of all you. So I'm sorry."

"I know," she sighed. "That's what sucks about all this. It'd be so much easier to be mad at you if you weren't such a good guy." She stared at him a moment longer before getting up. "So," she pulled her shirt on, "I'm going to go get cleaned up and sorted out." She shimmied her pants on. "And…" she trailed off, brushing her hair behind her ear, "um, try and wrap my head around all of this." _And probably break down crying while stuffing my face full of Kit-Kats_ , she admitted to herself. "So…"

"So I guess that's it then," he sighed lightly. "Well I guess… I guess we finally figured out exactly what our attraction level is to each other. I mean our relationship. We figured out what _we_ are," he stuttered, scratching the scar on his shoulder as he shook his head. "That's it."

"Yeah," she looked down, "that's it." She took a deep breath. "I guess… I'll see you later?"

"This feels so _wrong,_ " Dick cried in exasperation, running his hands through his hair again. He sighed quietly. "Yeah. I'll see you later, and hey-" _don't tell anyone about Harley._ "This doesn't mean we can't be friends. I mean, what would you do if I stopped bringing you Kit-Kat's? What would I do without the sciency stuff?" he joked halfheartedly, smiling a little. Barbara laughed, but it sounded forced.

"Okay, just," she took a deep breath, "give me a little time to… wrap my head around this." _Time to get over you, which I doubt there is enough of_. She nodded once before heading to the door. "And Dick," she turned back to him, her hand on the door handle. "Be careful. She…" _Is the Joker's girlfriend, untrustworthy, crazy, not good enough for you, on the other side, could be using you, evil, a murderer…_ "might not feel the same way." _And we all know how that feels_. She gave him a sad smile before pulling the door open and leaving.


	19. The One Where Nightwing Saves Harley

"Sedation doesn't work long, but the Bats use it as a means of escape. It has to be fired in the head because their blood is so thick it barely moves- if shot anywhere else, it'll never take effect; the toxin would _never_ reach the brain via bloodflow. Fear toxin so far has proved to have humanizing results. It makes the zombies, otherwise mindless, fearful for their own lives, proving my theory that the synapses aren't dead; just dormant. I think shock therapy could-" Dr. Crane looked up from his notes where he'd been writing as he talked out loud. "Harley. What are you doing here?" He asked in surprise, her figure silhouetted in the doorway.

"Mistah J said I should come spend the day with ya." She skipped into the room, Oscar Mayer cradled in her arms. "So whatcha doin'?" She grinned at him.

"Perfect," Crane muttered irritably. "I'm doing my job. What is that?" He pointed at the dog in confusion.

"A dog," Harley said slowly. "Of the canine family. They were domesticated by humans hundreds a years ago." She giggled.

"And why do you have it?" Crane looked at her earnestly over the frame of his glasses.

"Because look at his face." She held Oscar up in front of Crane. The dog licked his nose and stared at Scarecrow.

"Alright. Will the Joker let it last through the week?" He asked calmly and continued writing his notes.

It was then that Harley noticed the zombie strapped to an operating table in the far corner of the office, unconscious with its skull cut open and it's brains laid carefully on the metal surface. Oscar Mayer sniffed in the direction of the Infected, his nose straining towards it. "We don't even know if I'll last the week," she giggled as she walked over to the zombie. "What's goin' on here?" she walked around the table. When Oscar growled at the Infected, she set him on the floor.

"Just taking a look under the hood," Crane chuckled, picking up his notebook. It was a run-of-the-mill school spiral college ruled, the cover long since torn off, the papers absolutely covered in ink of various colors in convoluted notes. He walked towards her, pushing his glasses up his nose. He narrowed his eyes at her. "The bruises are still there." Harley wrinkled her nose at him.

"So are the age lines." She poked his cheek.

"Yes, well, stress and _age_ will do that to you," he replied listlessly. "And you're not so young yourself anymore."

She mock gasped. "How dare ya say that to a lady." She grinned. "And I am old enough ta realize you're doin' something here." She put her elbows on the table as she stared at the brain at eye level. "So what do we got?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet," he replied, looking over his glasses at the gore on the table. "I honestly just wanted to see how they worked. How can their brains still function if their blood is so slow and swollen that it can't carry oxygen to it anymore? Yet their brains seem to function normally. It's incredibly peculiar."

"Just a lot slower?" Harley guessed. "I mean," she straightened up, "their whole bodies need oxygen ta live, so their just in a half death thingy? Slower systems, slower blood, slower brains?" She stared at the brain and tilted her head to the side.

"Exactly. Slower." he smiled a little at the dog sniffing at his feet.

"With random bursts 'a speed," she pondered, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Is the Infection smart?" She turned to him. "It sanctions off parts 'a the brain ta do exactly what it wants, superior clottin', an' it keeps people alive who're at the brink 'a death. It came in with the aliens, could it be some kinda alien parasite? Symbiotic relationship? Like Venom in Spiderman. Did you read comics?"

"I… no, I wasn't much of a comic book enthusiast, no," Crane stared at her in confusion, and then turned back to the zombie. "Though that _is_ an interesting theory. Worth looking into."

"Didn't read comics," Harley scoffed. "How un-American." She watched Oscar sniff a shelf full of jars.

"Actually comic books began in Japan and then in Europe well before the eighteen hundreds," Crane muttered, scribbling in his notebook. "Would you mind getting a test subject for me?" he asked hopefully, glancing out the window at the zombies milling about. "You don't have to, I know you don't like them. I just figured it may be easier for you to do it than for me."

"Does it have ta be a specific kind? Or can I just get the first one I see?"

"Take whichever you choose," he smiled brightly, and she was taken aback. She hadn't seen him show any emotion, much less be happy- since before the Infection. When the Joker had taken over Arkham City it had been join or be killed, and Crane had reluctantly joined the Joker's mad crusade to take over. Since then he'd seemed listless.

"The fact that your smilin' is scarin' me," she told him. "I'll be right back. Don't do anything," she gestured around the room, "strange while I'm gone." She grabbed the dog catcher's pole from beside the door and headed out. Crane quickly prepared the straps on another operating table, rolling it into the center of the room and awaiting Harley's return. She elbowed the door open, holding the pole firmly away from her as a decaying biker with a gunshot wound the shoulder struggled to get close enough to bite her.

"Ahhh, the first one I saw, I wish I hadn't." The zombie yanked Harley into the room when it smelled Crane, practically dragging her. Crane quickly walked around the zombie and took the pole, forcing the zombie towards the table.

"You did pick a nasty one, didn't you?" he sighed, and Harley helped him force it down to the table and strap it down as it snarled and thrashed against the belts.

"Well we're in Arkham. What'd ya expect?" She huffed a strand of hair out of her face. "A sweet old lady?"

"Maybe a nice damaged one," he shrugged. "And smaller. Definitely wish it'd have been smaller." Crane smiled a little.

"Then next time ya should specify that," she told him. "I followed your instructions ta the letter."

"That you did, Harleykins, that you did. So how have you been?" He busied himself checking on the zombie, careful to put gloves on before he poked in the bullet wound in its shoulder and then scribbled in his notebook.

"Bored mostly," she shrugged. Bored on most days except Dick's patrol days. Like today. She glanced to the North where she knew the wall was, and Nightwing somewhere beyond it. She didn't think it was a coincidence Joker had suggested she visit Crane today. "What about you? Still scarin' away crows?" She beamed. Crane smiled a little.

"Scaring _them,_ " he gestured to the thrashing zombie.

"Ooo, sounds like fun. Can I help?"

"Of course," Crane grinned, pulling out a canister of his fear toxin and handing it to her. "In the face."

"All righty then." She pointed the canister directly at the zombie's snapping jaws and leaned away, pinching her eyes closed. She sprayed him and jumped back. Scarecrow walked past her and plunged a needle into Harley's arm. When she cried out he pulled the syringe away.

"Don't worry I'm just inoculating you," he assured her, his eyes wide. He'd just hoped that she wouldn't hit him. "You should be immune to the toxin now."

"Ow," she rubbed her arm, "we'll ya coulda warned me," she muttered. "And I think Ivy already pretty well covered that, but thanks for lookin' out for me, Doc."

"I just had to make sure." The zombie suddenly went still. Crane shuffled a bit. "How- how is Ivy?"

"She's good." Harley poked the zombie's cheek. "She got annoyed at Oscar because he chewed her peace lily. But she's good."

"Good," he muttered. The zombie flinched away from Harley's hand, whimpering.

"How many times are we gonna say 'good?'" She smiled at him. Crane smiled a little at her, his white-blue eyes more tired than any other time she'd seen him.

"Im glad she's ok. I'm glad that you're... Um..." He cleared his throat as the zombie whined again, struggling to get away from them as he turned his attention back to it.

"It's weird seeing one of 'em scared 'a us." She watched the zombie with mild interest. "It feels backward."

"Is it not _fascinating_ though? The thought that this was once human. You can even determine it's human fears, if you try hard enough; I found this out while experimenting on two different subjects, a victim who died of a drug overdose and a woman who was stabbed working the corner- she seemed to be absolutely _terrified_ when I so much as presented a needle, while he reacted, but nowhere near as strongly. I did some further investigating and found out that the addict was terrified of heights. So much so, in fact, that the creature fainted. Actually _fainted._ They still fear. They're still _human._ " He stared at the zombie on the table as it stared around the room in a terrified stupor, constantly whimpering. "Sadly, that is not conducive to my research. I am nowhere near close to learning to _control_ them. But this may be a step in the right direction." He began to pace the length of the room.

"Yeah, I mean ya tapped into that fight versus flight center 'a the brain." She waved her hand in front of the Infected's face and watched him flinch away. "It's either fear or desire ta fight that drive people in hordes. I dunno how ta make it work, but it seems like you're on the right path."

"Yes, well I don't think that we can effectively control them by scaring them in the right direction. But this does show that there's a subconscious there. There's-" Crane halted in his pacing, his eyes wide behind the cracked lenses of his glasses. "Of course," he breathed.

"What?" Harley stared at him. "That was an epiphany type 'of course.' What?"

"Hypnosis. The answer is as simple as hypnosis." Crane looked at her in shock.

"Okay," she said uncertainty. "I'm a little skeptical of hypnosis when done by normal mortal men."

"Hypnosis accesses your subconscious, it's like being asleep without being asleep- You wouldn't do anything that you normally wouldn't, but because the zombies brains are fried, they're rageful and hungry- reduced to basic instincts- hypnotize them to your commands and point them in the right direction and they'll do anything you want," he breathed, running a hand through his hair. Jonathan suddenly beamed, turning to Harley as he grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms as he swung her about the room happily and laughed. "That's it! Oh, thank you, Harleykins! All it took was talking through it to you. You've always been a genius, Dear, I've always known," he chuckled, setting her down. He ruffled her hair and smiled. "I've been working for months and my research has come to nothing but that."

"Well, uh, I'm happy ta help?" She shrugged, still slightly confused. Crane stopped to think for a moment and smiled a little.

"Of course I'll have to figure out the technicalities, but this is something. This is an idea," he sighed, resting his elbows on the table. "Something to pitch to the Joker to cut the agitation back a bit. How are you healing?" He suddenly asked, glancing up at Harley and examining the bruises on her face. "No, you can hardly see them anymore..."

"So, are we good?" Harley asked hopefully. "Or do ya still need me? Seems like you've got this."

"No, you may leave. But Harley-" he caught her arm as she turned to the door, looking at her earnestly- "be careful. Be wary of Nightwing. Not just because he's the enemy, dear, but because he could hurt you. And because you are treading on thin ice with the Joker. Nobody wants to see you get free of him more than me, or Ivy; but just the same. Be cautious." He smiled a little and released her. "And say hello to Ivy for me?"

"Um...okay." Harley backed slowly away. "I'll… um…" She didn't know what to say to him. "If anyone asks, I was here all day."

"You never left," he agreed. She glanced back at him in confusion one last time.

"Thanks. Come on Oscar." The dog scampered after her as the door closed. She picked him up as she walked through the asylum, scratching his head. When she stepped outside, it was dark. At least it'd be easier to sneak through the city undetected.

Harley held Oscar to her chest as she scampered through the city. She hid every time she came across someone, scratching the dog's head whenever he'd look up at her and whine. When she finally made it to the wall, she glanced around. Taking a deep breath, she held Oscar tight and sprinted through.

She giggled once she was past the wall, glancing behind her. She set Oscar down by her feet. "Come on. Let's go see Di- Nightwing." She glanced behind her again before jogging forward, Oscar trailing at her heels.

Oscar followed behind her the whole way, and Harley giggled at him anytime she looked back at him waddling along after her. When she reached the hotel is when she realized her problem. She didn't have a way to make it up to the room. _Is he even there?_ She craned her neck to look up at the skyscraper. _We didn't think this all the way through_. Oscar wandered over to sniff a dumpster as Harley resigned herself to the fact she'd have to go find Dick.

She whistled to call Oscar back to her as she started walking again. She had a feeling finding him when it was dark was going to be a lot harder than during the day. He might not spend as much time by the opening at night. Besides, he might have given up waiting for her at this point. Harley chewed on the inside of her cheek as she went along, squinting down different streets. She briefly wondered what would happen if she ran into another Bat that was on patrol before Nightwing; the idea of facing Robin didn't appeal to her.

Oscar would stop to explore various things before scampering after her, practically tripping her as he got underfoot. He ran off barking, and Harley rolled her eyes. She didn't want him getting lost chasing a cat, so she followed. He stopped in the middle of the street still barking with his hackles raised. Harley peered through the shadows in the street and could barely make out three figures leaning around a busted street lamp.

 _Oops_. She quickly called Oscar, and her reluctantly followed her, still growling. She headed in the opposite direction, staring straight ahead until she walked into the unmistakable shadow of a wall. A dead end. _Maybe they didn't follow_ , she thought hopefully. Oscar started yapping. _Of course they did_.

"Where you going, cutie?"

Harley sighed in frustration as she slowly turned around, facing the three men with an annoyed expression. "So I'm gonna guess you're _not_ gonna tell Mistah J ya saw me wanderin' around outside the wall, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" The same man spoke. He was in the center of the three of them, and definitely the biggest. All of them had the dirty Arkham look and sunken eyes of bad habits and no food. "We saw a pretty little lady who looked lost, and we thought we'd offer her our assistance." Harley physically winced when he said 'pretty little lady.' He talked with a slow drawl that made each of his words sound like they were steeped in oil, and she was immediately disgusted by him.

The three of them kept walking toward her, but she held her ground, Oscar hiding behind her legs as he bared his teeth at the men. "I'm good, so why don't ya beat it?"

"Aw," he dragged the word out. "Well that's no way to be. We're just trying to be nice." He grinned, and Harley immediately wondered when the last time was that he'd brushed his teeth. The other two wore matching idiotic grins. The three of them were obviously well built, nearly double her size, but she couldn't figure out why they were acting so cocky. They knew who she was.

"How about ya go be nice somewhere else?" Harley warned.

"But we feel like being nice to you." The man stepped in front of her, putting a hand on her arm. She punched him in the throat. As the man stumbled back coughing, one of the other two men grabbed the collar of her jacket. She elbowed him in the gut and slipped her arms out of the sleeves. She was almost glad these three idiots had attacked her; she was in a punching things mood.

Harley lunged toward the final man when the gunshot rang out. The cement at her feet splintered, and she tripped to the side. _Well that'd be why they were so cocky_. The Joker had gathered all the firearms in Uptown and Arkham, no one had them besides his inner circle. The surprise of it threw her off balance. The first man man grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall; her head cracked against it hard, and she cried out, seeing stars.

"That really hurt you little bitch," he hissed in her ear as his hand fumbled at her hip for her gun. He tossed it aside and caught her hands that clawed at his arm. "Don't worry," he hissed, "I'll still be nice enough to show you a good time." He pushed her harder into the wall as she struggled to free her arms, her shoulders getting scratched by the rough brick.

 _Ow my head_. She winced. _Focus on the real problem at hand_ , she scolded herself. _But it really hurts_. She tried to blink through the pain to focus. The man thrust his face in front of hers.

"You should really stop struggling, princess. You might hurt yourself." Harley spit in his face, and he loosened his grip on her throat enough to slam her back into the wall. She attempted to gasp for air as he leaned into her neck and smelled the scent of her hair. "What a pity." He let her arms go to yank her shirt down below her bra. Her hands couldn't pry his hand away from her throat as he groped her. "You're too dangerous to keep conscious." His hand tightened around her neck. "I was really looking forward to hearing you scream and beg for mercy." He pressed himself against her leg, so she could feel how much that turned him on.

 _Knee him! Do something!_ she tried to order herself, but her limbs were starting to feel heavy. The guy she'd elbowed grabbed her right arm, pressing a knife to her side. The first man smacked him away.

"Back away," he snapped. "You'll have your chance." The guy looked like he wanted to argue, glaring at Harley, but just nodded. Never loosening his grip on her throat, the man offered the other man the gun and exchanged it for the knife. Harley's eyes flickered over to the third man, but he just watched with the same stupid smile. "Now," Harley shuddered as the man spoke again, practically lifting her off the ground by her neck, "let's see the perks only the Clown Prince gets." He trailed the knife down her stomach. She knew she could easily take him, but she started to panic as her vision began to flicker and her hands were too weak to free her throat. A string of profanities ran through head at how she'd gotten herself in this situation. She tried to focus enough to kick him away but could feel herself starting to blackout. The pressure from the knife was gone, and she could hear him undoing his zipper.

There was a sickening crack as the third man's calf bone suddenly snapped outward with a force from behind and he buckled, screaming horribly and clutching at his leg where the bone stuck out of his jeans. The first man gasped in shock, and his hand loosened a bit on Harley's neck. She coughed as the cold air rushed into her lungs, searing her throat, but keeping her conscious. The other two looked around in shock, and one readied his gun. The alley was silent apart from their friend's wailing.

"What the hell was-" the second man began, but he was cut off when a grappling hook exploded clean through his shoulder, the sharp teeth catching his skin before he was suddenly yanked backwards by it into the darkness, screaming. In a split second the final man had released Harley's throat, and she fell-

-only to have someone catch her at the last moment, and lower her to the ground gently before he swung at the man who'd been holding her. The blow landed and knocked him down; from where Harley lay, coughing and desperately trying to regain her composure, she could see Nightwing's back to her as he caught the man by the throat just before he hit the ground. Dick shoved him across the alley and against the wall, the man's head slamming back into the brick. Unholstering an escrima stick, he kneed the man in the groin. Dick drew back and hit him once- twice- three times- he didn't stop until the escrima stick took blood with it on the backswing, and then he let the man drop. He fell to his knees and Nightwing caught his head with escrima sticks on either side of his neck before bringing his knee into the man's face; the final blow knocked him out cold and he fell to the side in a motionless heap. Dick breathed heavily for a moment.

He finally turned and walked past the man with the broken leg, kicking him in the face to knock him out and stop his wailing, and he finally knelt in front of Harley. His body was stiff and tensed, blood splattered over his gloves and his face hidden in shadow. Still a bit dazed, she felt him gently pull her shirt back up and lift her into his arms, carrying her out into the dark street. He whistled for Oscar Meyer and the dog trotted out towards them. Harley clutched onto his jacket, trembling slightly as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, still rasping for air.

"Thank you," she choked.

"I've been looking all over for you," he snapped, and then his voice softened. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm-I'm okay," she croaked and rubbed a hand across her throat. "You wouldn't happen to have a glass of water in the nifty belt of yours?" she tried to joke.

"I do. I have some food, too, can you wait until we get to our place?" he asked quietly. There was a bit of blood splattered on his mask, and he smiled a little at her.

"My guardian angel," she attempted to laugh but ended up shuddering and clinging to him. She nodded, burying her face in the crook of his neck again as she held tight to him. Dick reached the hotel and scooped up Oscar at his feet, dropping him on Harley's lap. "Hold tight to him," Dick said quietly and then fired the grappling gun, landing safely on the balcony of their makeshift apartment. He stepped in the doors and closed them behind himself against the chill, gently putting Harley down on the couch. He examined her thoroughly to make sure she wasn't hurt and then handed her a small canteen of water, dropping back on the floor as he sighed. The room was quiet and dark, and Oscar leapt off of Harley's lap to sniff around.

Harley twisted the lid off the canteen and gulped half of the water down before stopping to breathe. She closed it and handed it back to him. "Thanks." She grabbed a throw pillow and hid her face in it as she curled up in a ball on the couch cushions. Dick watched her for a moment before he stood and went about the room with his book of matches, lighting the candles scattered on shelves and tables and any other surfaces that they could find to put them on. Dick took his jacket off and draped it over Harley. She caught his hand. "Can you just…" she looked up at him, "stay here for a sec and…" she looked down, blushing, "be gentle with me?" Dick stared at her in surprise and then smiled softly.

He walked around the couch and sat down beside her, pulling her up into his arms. "Of course. It's ok, now, Harley. You're ok," he reassured her kindly, pressing his lips to her forehead. She held him tightly, pinching her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just need a minute."

"Understandable," he replied gently. "Take your time." Dick's arms were wrapped tightly around her shoulders, his jacket warm over her. It smelled faintly of cologne and the blood splattered over it. She put her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and trying to let the steady rhythm calm her. She breathed slowly in and out, the action still a little strained. After a while, she tilted her head to look at him only to have her head throb at the sudden movement.

"Ow," she complained. She gingerly touched around the tender skin at the back of her head. "Ow," she muttered again in surprise, "that hurts."

"Well stop poking it," Dick giggled quietly, smiling down at her. He took a deep breath. "You scared me there. I couldn't find you, and when I did… I wasn't thinking, I just had to act fast," he breathed, stroking her cheek.

"I was with Dr. Crane today, an' then when I finally got out here, I didn't know how ta get up here," she explained. "So I tried looking for ya, but ran into them. An' one 'a them had a gun, and took me by surprise, and it all happened really fast, and I don't even know. I shoulda been able ta get outta that situation." She checked to make sure there was no dried blood in her hair. His hand caught hers and he smiled a little, lacing his fingers with hers.

"It's ok. We all get taken by surprise," he shrugged. Dick leaned his head back against the couch and sighed quietly, putting his boots up on the glass coffee table. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn't shown up.

"Thanks for showin' up when ya did." Harley snuggled back up into his chest. "An' I mean it," she said seriously. "Thank you."

"Good," he chuckled. "I'd be a bit put out if you weren't grateful," he joked quietly, brushing her bangs behind her ear.

"I'd be more grateful if you'd grabbed my jacket," she teased "I loved that thing." She smiled up at him. Dick laughed.

"We can go back for it. I don't think it's going anywhere," he shook his head, before his smile wavered a bit. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah," Harley glanced over herself, "I think so." She tried to look at her back. "The scratches sting a little, and I have a splitting headache." She pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. After a moment of thinking, she reached up and carefully pulled the elastic holding her right pigtail in place out and repeated with the left. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed once the tension was relieved off her scalp. "Much better." Dick smiled, his eyes closed as he took in the faint, warm, inviting aroma of whatever soap she used in her hair. He released a sigh shakily and smiled a little, turning his head on the couch to look at her.

"Let me see." He gingerly moved her onto his lap so that he could examine the scrapes on her back. The touch of his hand brushing her hair over her shoulder so he could see them gave her goosebumps, and his thumb traced gently over the torn skin. "They aren't bad, no, but we should still clean them up. We should both get the blood off, it's dangerous…" his fingers trailed over her pale skin. Harley made a face at him over her shoulder.

"Always the practical one." He broke into a grin before kissing her shoulder gently.

"If you knew my brother Red Robin, you wouldn't think that. Or even Robin," he laughed, scooping her up, wary of the cuts on her back, and carried her into the bedroom and to the bathroom. Closing the door behind them, he set her down on the counter and pulled his first aid supplies out of his belt. Harley stared at her reflection across the narrow, long bathroom. The wall with the door in it was completely glass mirrors, and when the door closed it seemed to disappear into the glass. That, partnered with the mirror over the counter behind her, made the room seem to go on forever, with hundreds of Dicks and Harleys getting smaller and smaller and fading into the illusion of nothingness. Dick made her turn and started cleaning the cuts gently. "Only a few of them are bleeding," he informed her, but she could easily see in the mirrors.

Harley watched her reflection reach back and run her fingers through the long hair at the nape of his neck. "I didn't know ya wanted ta play doctor." She saw herself smirk in the mirror and watched for his reaction. Dick's cheeks went red and he glanced up at her, catching her looking in the mirror. He blushed harder when he did and laughed a little.

"I always wanted a 'normal' job when I was a kid. The dream didn't last long, but I did. Maybe I should've been a doctor," he shook his head, trying to ignore her watching him as he gently misted her back with an antibacterial spray.

"Eh, it's not that fun." She leaned forward away from his hands and grinned at him through the mirror. Dick caught her shoulder and pulled her back, giving her reflection a stern look, making sure to wipe the scrapes clean one last time. They weren't even bleeding anymore, and he let her go, packing the supplies away in his utility belt again. Dick sighed and washed his hands in the sink. "You'll live. I think. I mean, I'm not a doctor." She turned around quickly, draping her arms over his shoulders.

"But I am." She grinned. "Did you need a checkup?"

"Alright, alright, I'll play along," Dick smirked, his hands resting gently on her hips. "I dunno, I haven't been to the doctor in a while. I could probably do with a check up," he laughed, his thumb tracing gently over her hip.

"And what's the reason for your appointment?" she asked, moving closer to him. "Everything functionin' properly?" She raised an eyebrow.

Dick laughed again. She loved the way he laughed, so genuine and happy. "Everything functions just fine, Dr. Quinzel," he replied, smiling. "Though I have been feeling a bit off. A little shaky, a little sick to my stomach. I feel faint; light as a feather. And I don't know why," Dick smiled slyly. She looked at him seriously.

"You're pregnant."

Dick burst into laughter, taken completely off guard.

"No, I don't know that that's it," he snorted, grinning.

"Hmmm," Harley fought to keep from smiling, "I'm a little rusty at this. Lemme try again. Is it… the flu? I'm really not this kind 'a doctor."

"Then maybe it is a problem for your kind of doctor," he smiled, watching her happily. There was still a bit of blood on his mask. "Tell me then, am I crazy?" She nodded.

"Oh definitely. We're gonna need a _lot_ 'a sessions together." She stood on tiptoe, her lips level with his. "A lotta one on one sessions."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Dick whispered, his lips brushing hers.

"I thought I was the doctor here," she pouted.

Dick grinned and bit her bottom lip, pulling her into a kiss as his arms tightened gently around her waist. "You are. So in your professional opinion, should I _really_ be one on one with the very doctor that's driving me mad?" Harley felt him grin against her lips before he pulled her closer to him.

"Definitely not," Harley giggled. "Just like I shouldn't be with one 'a my patients." She ran her hands up into his hair. "But that's what makes it so fun," she whispered against his lips. Dick inhaled her words, closing his eyes as his lips chased hers. _Barbara. She said you might love Harley Quinn. Let's see where this goes._ He leaned forward and kissed her hungrily, pulling her closer to him. Harley kissed him back fervently, pressing herself up against him as her hands knotted in his hair. She couldn't believe how unbelievably grateful she was that he'd been here for her tonight, not just saving her. Dick lifted her off of the counter, one hand remaining against her back while the other slid under her to support her weight. His lips dropped away from hers and he kissed down her neck, biting her every so often, his dark hair falling over his shoulders in a tangled mess. She tightened her legs around his waist, her back arching. Tossing her head back, she bit her lip as she gasped. She realized her hair was still down as it tumbled over her shoulder and down her back. The urge to put it up washed over her, but instead she grabbed Dick's face and leaned down to kiss him. Dick kissed her hard, his hand trailing down her side. He wanted to feel her. To know what every curve of her body felt like against his; he wanted her to feel every touch. He wanted her to notice his hand under her and his finger slipping under the hem of her shorts. He wanted her to notice the solid strength and power of his chest as hers pressed to his, her back arching her body against him. Dick moaned softly against her lips, catching their reflection in the mirrors before he pulled her top up over her head and drew her close again as he kissed her, watching his hands move slowly and delicately back up her spine before his eyes closed again.

"As a medical professional," Harley murmured, pulling his top up, "I think I should give ya a thorough physical." Her hands explored his chest as she kissed him again. Dick sighed against her lips, one hand gripping her back as the other slid into her hair. He moaned and he kissed her fervently, pulling her closer as he set her gently on her feet and tugged her shorts down. Harley smiled into the kiss as she unclipped his utility belt, letting it fall to the floor before pulling their hips together.

 _This is it. You can't love her. You know you can't... But you do._ Dick pulled her close. He wanted to say it. He knew that he was capable of holding it in, of keeping his love a secret- he'd done it with Barbara for almost ten years. But he _wanted_ to. It was on the tip of his tongue. Dick's lips brushed hers and he unzipped his pants, letting them fall as he kissed her again. Harley braced her arm against his chest and shoved him back against that wall, cracking a mirror. She looked at the lenses of his mask and could barely see his eyes widened in surprise behind them. She gasped and backed away from him.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She buried her face in her hands. _Calm down. He's not that man._

"Harley," Dick breathed, wanting to reach out to her but not wanting to frighten her again. "It's okay. It's _me._ I wouldn't hurt you. It's okay," he panted, stepping towards her and pulling her into his arms. "It's okay," he repeated, running his fingers through her hair. Dick kissed her head. _I love you._

"I'm sorry." She looked up at him. "Did I hurt you? I am so sorry."

"I may have gotten cut on the glass- I mean, I like it rough, but..." He chuckled quietly, just hoping to make her smile again. Dick pushed the hair out of her face and smiled a little.

"I... I've just never felt that helpless before." She leaned her forehead on his shoulder. "I can still feel his hands."

Dick sighed quietly. He didn't know what to tell her. He leaned down and kissed her neck lovingly, his lips tender and gentle on her skin. "Focus on my touch. Focus on us." Dick kissed her collarbone gently, his hand moving softly over her waist, pulling her closer into his arms. Harley closed her eyes, trying to lose herself in his touch. It was worse in the darkness behind her eyelids, so she quickly opened them, grabbing Dick's face and staring at him for a moment. She needed to see that it was him. Once she was breathing steadily again, she leaned forward and kissed him gently. Her lips moved from there, along his jaw, and down his neck. She moved her hands up into his hair, kissing along his shoulder and faded bullet wound. Pushing him gently against the wall, her hands knotted in his hair. Dick sighed again, his head dropping against the wall. He held her close, feeling up her spine to her shoulder blades. His comm sounded in his ear and he gasped a little.

"Nightwing, what's your location?" Robin asked. Dick opened his eyes and looked down at Harley.

"Northernmost point of Uptown. You?"

"By the bridge, making another round. Do you need me to cover your area?"

Dick hesitated.

"That's a yes, then," Damian said, and Dick could hear the smirk in his voice. "Think before you leap, Grayson. _Think_ before you make this decision."

"Thank you, Robin," he laughed nervously. Harley ran her finger along his lips as he laughed.

"You're a mysterious man, Nightwing." She smiled. She wanted to know who the man behind the mask was, but not for the reasons a criminal should want to. "But I think you're right, you won't hurt me." She leaned her elbows on his shoulders, standing up on tiptoe and leaning her forehead against his. There was a voice in the back of her mind telling her to stop, but she ignored it. "So if the offer from last time still stands..."

 _I'm going to show you how_ I _make love,_ he'd whispered then. Dick took a deep breath shakily and bit his lip, smiling. "I think that can be arranged," he breathed, kissing her slowly as he savored the taste. Her hands cupped his neck, and she pulled their bodies together as she kissed him back.

"I just," she leaned back a bit, "I need to know it's you." She blushed a little, red coloring her pale cheeks.

"What do you mean?" Dick looked a bit surprised, running a hand through her hair.

"I need to know I'm in here with you, not..." she looked down, "not out there..." _With them._ "I don't know if that makes sense. I just need to feel..." _Safe. You make me feel safe. Shit._ She closed her eyes. _I really am crazy_. Dick stared at her for a long time and then let out a slow breath.

"You know… we had a set of rules in the circus when we got scared. Three rules to follow to stay calm and stay alive; three facts to keep in mind to calm yourself if you froze. Number one: pick a point. Choose the point in space you're headed for and don't look away for not even a second. Look at _me_ , Harley." He cupped one hand under her chin and made her look at him. "Number two: build yourself a net. Make a kind of mental safety net out of plain, simple facts, to steady you. Facts like-" he took a deep breath, biting his lip as he reached up to pull his mask off- "my name is Dick Grayson." He looked up at her, and she could finally see his face; chiseled cheekbones and clear blue eyes of the purest color, rimmed in dark, thick sleepy lashes. Dick smiled a little. "I am _Nightwing_. My parents died when I was eleven. I grew up by Batman's side as Robin, and I've been there ever since." He leaned down and kissed her gently, his hands cupping her face. His lips fell away from hers and he opened his eyes again to look at her face. "And if all else fails," he breathed, kissing her gently, "if you clear your mind and think only of these things, and you're still scared; there was a third rule. A back-up plan."

Harley stared at him in shock, her eyes flickering between both of his. Too many things were flashing through her mind at once. His eyes were definitely not gross, his cheekbones were different than she'd imagined, she _did_ recognize his name, and his story with Bruce Wayne, he hadn't kept out of the news like she'd thought a Bat would, and the fact that his eyes were so _blue_ , and that he was telling her this. She didn't know how to process that he was telling her who he was or what to do with the information. She focused on one thing. "What's the backup plan?" she whispered. Dick pulled her into his arms, carrying her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, placing her gently on the bed as he leaned above her, kissing her passionately. He dropped his mask on the ground beside the bed and laced his fingers with her's beside her head in the sweet smelling sheets.

"Pray you land somewhere soft," he whispered, smiling down at her. Without his mask, she could see the feeling in his eyes. The emotion. The _love._ Dick kissed her again, pulling her close.

 _This is bad. This is very very bad_ , she thought to herself. Her back arched up toward him as she tilted her head back to kiss him better, her fingers locking with his. Dick kissed her slowly, his arm sliding under her back as he held her against him, sighing happily. It was like a weight had lifted off his shoulders; he could finally breathe. Harley could see him now. His hand trailed over her hip, his other cupping her face. His kiss grew more passionate as he held her, and he broke off weakly, smiling against her lips.

"I would _never_ hurt you."

"What if you don't have a choice?" she asked quietly. She reached a hand up and stroked his cheek. "We're supposed to be enemies."

"Even so…" Dick looked in her eyes, smiling a little. "I don't think I could. I don't think I could be your enemy anymore. I..." he sighed quietly and leaned down to kiss her neck, his lips trailing over her skin under her jaw. Harley could feel herself starting to panic. This was never supposed to happen. She was afraid she was going to start hyperventilating, so she immediately followed his advice.

 _My name is Harleen Quinzel and I go by Harley Quinn. I am in a relationship with the Joker. I am also in a relationship with Dick Grayson aka Nightwing._ She took a shaky breath. _Damn it_. She grabbed his shoulder and rolled them over, her lips finding his. _Here's hoping for a soft landing_.


	20. The One With Batman's First Warning

Dick slipped back in the bedroom through the balcony doors. It was over. He'd gone out to do some work while Harley slept, and it was nearing sunrise. He paused to light some candles. It made him sad to know that he'd have to leave her soon. He walked towards her and took his mask off, smiling at her tangled in the bedsheets. She lay on her stomach, her white skin soft and inviting in the moonlight shining through the balcony doors. Her red and black hair was tangled around her well muscled shoulders, her mouth slightly open and her makeup smudged around her eyes as she slept soundly. Dick reached down and brushed her bangs away from her face.

"I love you," he whispered quietly, a small smile on his lips. He sighed deeply, the weight of the sentence lifting off of his shoulders as he shook his head and stroked her cheek. "Harley. Harley, wake up…" She grumbled a little, rolling and smacking him in the face.

"Oh my God!" She sat up suddenly, wide awake. "Why do I keep doing this? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Dick laughed, kissing her cheek "Don't worry about it." His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, a few loose strands framing his face. "Good morning," he smiled.

"Ew," she complained. "Morning." She leaned forward, but instead of giving him a kiss, blew raspberries against his cheek and giggled. She leaned back on her elbows. Dark bruises were starting to blossom across her throat. "Ya know, I don't like this state 'a dress as much as the one that I feel asleep to," she said as she eyed his uniform. Dick laughed.

"I know. Personally I don't either," he laughed. "I had to get out and do some work while you slept, but you know. Duty calls," he chuckled, leaning against the mattress as he smiled at her. "I have to go pretty soon."

"Boo. That doesn't sound fun at all." She suddenly leaned forward and poked his cheek. "Sorry, kinda thought it was a dream." She waggled his eyebrow with her pointer finger. Dick laughed again, looking almost naked without the mask.

"No, this is really my face. Sorry to disappoint." He smiled, watching her.

"Oh no, it's not disappointing, but," she leaned in and whispered, "am I allowed ta know this? Am I gonna get in trouble? Are you gonna get in trouble?" Dick leaned closer to her with a smile.

"You know, I think if we keep it a secret between you and me, we'll be alright," he whispered.

"Richard Grayson who?" she teased, grabbing him and pulling him down to kiss her. "Wait," she sat back up a little, "it's almost morning?"

"Yeah," Dick blinked in surprise, his lips chasing hers. "I wasn't done with that…" he muttered. Harley rolled her eyes and giggled, kissing him again.

"I just don't think Crane can cover for me this long. I don't think it's believable that I spent _all_ night helpin' him."

"Well maybe he will cover for you. Or tell the Joker you were out… killing zombies. Or use the 'lady problems' excuse, Spoiler _always_ uses that to switch us on patrol/rest days," Dick laughed, dropping down on the bed on his back and looking at her.

"Lady problems. You're adorable." She kissed his nose before getting up and starting to pull her clothes on. "Between the horny three stooges and the rioters that want my head on a stick, I think lady problems is the least 'a my worries."

"Nah, but lady problems can't be easy in this day and age, so," turned his head to watch her, barely hiding his disappointment as she got dressed, and he smiled a little, "just let me know if you need a back massage," he chuckled. She grinned at him as she clipped her bra behind her back.

"Seriously, you are too cute." She moved back over to the bed, leaning over him. "What am I gonna do with ya?"

"Oh, I dunno," he tucked his arms under his head and sighed, "keep me here, feed me, play with me," Dick smiled up at her and bit his lip.

"Well I already have one too many puppies, so I don't think that's gonna work out." She gave him a quick kiss. "Besides, I don't have the time to walk ya an' how am I gonna find you food?" She grinned.

"What do you mean?" Dick cocked his head a bit, looking up at her. She studied him.

"Have ya even seen Arkham? The only food left is what's been stolen from you guys, an' I think that's about gone. What did ya think we were eating?"

"That's terrible," Dick said quietly, sitting up and moving her onto his lap. He sounded genuinely concerned.

"It makes some people very cranky." She sighed. "I mean, I have Ivy, but she refuses to help Mistah J out, so most people just try fishin'."

"Shit, Harley, I'm sorry. I had no idea how bad it'd gotten." He looked down. _We have food, but would it be enough?_ "Maybe… maybe we can work something out."

"You an' me? What are we gonna do? Offer up Oscar?" She gasped suddenly, grabbing his shoulder. "Do ya think they've been eatin' the wild dogs!? We gotta help all those puppies!"

"And we can help them," he assured her, "by getting people food so that they stop eating them." Dick grimaced. "If they are eating them."

"And where are we getting this miracle food?" She leaned back to look at him. "Are you giving it ta us?"

"The fact that you say that like its a joke wounds me. I'm wounded," Dick smiled a little. "I'm sure I could talk Batman into an exchange. Or get him to ration off some food for Arkham…" Dick bit his lip, sighing quietly.

"What was that?" She flicked his lip. "Was that uncertainty?" She grinned.

"Well the problem isn't Batman, it's _you_ guys. Batman will want to talk, and who's he gonna talk to?" He flicked her nose as payback. "You?"

"Hate ta break it to ya sporto," she wrinkled her nose at him, "but it'll probably be who's in charge. Your all time favorite man. Ooo," she winced, "that means I'll have ta tell him about this whole meeting."

"Then no. We can't do it," Dick shook his head decisively.

"No." She put a hand on his arm. "It'll be fine. We gotta do this. Think 'a all the dogs."

"I'm thinking about _you,_ Harley, I don't want him to hurt you again," Dick caught her hand, looking at her seriously. She cupped his face.

"I'll be _fine_. I think you're forgettin' that I've been with him for years. I know how to handle this. As long as Batman actually shows up…"

"I'll get him there. This is actually happening… Ok, where are we meeting? On the bridge?" Dick glanced at her, biting his lip.

"Um," she thought about it. "Yeah. Seems untrustworthy ta meet anywhere in Uptown or Arkham, an' we obviously can't go into Gotham. Plus, you guys will probably feel more in control with lots 'a guns pointed at us." She grinned. "So how much security are we allowed to bring?"

"Probably not much," Dick winced. "Do you think you can prepare a good enough argument in three days?"

"Three?" Harley chewed on the inside of her cheek. She'd have to approach the Joker about the meeting today if he knew Dick's patrol schedule. "I'll have a yay or a nay for the meeting by tonight."

"Alright," Dick glanced out at the sunrise. "I'll be on city patrol… but if I can't make it, I'll send someone for your answer. They'll meet you by the bridge," he assured her, stroking her cheek.

"All righty. If I don't go, don't let 'em shoot whoever I send." She leaned her head on his shoulder with a sigh; she'd seen him glance out the window. "Do you gotta leave now?"

"Well there's still time before the sun rises," Dick smiled, turning his head to kiss her forehead. He sighed quietly. His blue eyes glittered in the firelight of the candles beside the bed that he'd lit when he'd come in. The color was so pure and cold, yet his gaze was so warm when he looked down at her. Dick smiled a little and wrapped his arm around her.

"Because, ya know," she reached her arms up around his neck, "if I'm tellin' Mistah J I was out here, I doesn't matter if I stay a little longer."

 _As long as you're with me, you're not with him,_ Dick thought sadly, smiling to hide it. "And I've already missed most of my patrol, so I may as well stay too." Dick dropped back on the bed, pulling her back with him.

"So what patrol do ya got next? Oh wait: city. That's what ya said right? So what's after that?" She grinned.

"Yeah. After that I'm on supply run. Anything you want me to try to find for you?" Dick smiled at her, pulling her close.

"Umm," she pretended to think. "Some cake and some ice cream."

He laughed. "Where the hell am I supposed to get ice cream?"

"Then maybe you can find me a more capable man?" she taunted.

"Oh ouch," Dick laughed again, glancing at her. "Well if my company displeases you that much..." He smiled and sat up.

"Aw did I clip your wings?" She grinned. "Are you gonna fly the coop, bird boy?"

"You can't scare me that easily, Harley Quinn," he beamed down at her, suddenly catching her around the waist and flipping her over himself where she bounced in the soft pillows on the bed, giggling. He pinned her down playfully, still smiling broadly. "I've faced worse than you," he laughed, nose to nose with her.

"I dunno," she tilted her face to brush her lips against his for a second, "ya may have faced worse, but I don't think they've scored as much as me."

"I don't think so either," he smiled, kissing her gently. She bit his lip before kissing along his jaw to his ear.

"I think I'm one 'a the few villains ta _triumph_ over ya," she whispered. Dick shuddered and closed his eyes.

"I'm man enough to admit when I'm outmatched," he replied, one hand pulling her close as the other held himself up effortlessly above her. She suddenly wrapped her legs around his waist, using them to roll them over.

"Oh you have no idea," she murmured, sliding down so she was sitting on his hips. Dick laughed, looking up at her lovingly.

"I think I have a pretty good guess though," he smiled, his hand trailing over her belt at her hip.

"Oh really? Well did you know I could do this?" She grinned slyly before reaching up, grabbing his nose, and honking and giggling uncontrollably. Dick burst into laughter and nodded as she rolled off of him to lie beside him still laughing.

"Yep. It's official." _I'm in love with you._ "You're too cute to be a villain." Dick grinned, biting his lip.

"I dunno, you haven't seen my truly criminal moves," she smirked, giggling a little.

"I've seen a few," Dick raised his eyebrows. "You were always a force to be reckoned with, and that hasn't changed now."

"Nope. Only who I reckon with." She gave him a quick kiss. "And how I do the reckoning."

"Well I have to say it's a lot less dangerous now," Dick grinned, turning his head to kiss her softly before glancing back at the doors. "Sun's coming up." She covered his eyes.

"Maybe it'll stop comin' up if ya stop lookin' at it."

"Maybe." Dick's voice was soft as he smiled. Harley uncovered his eyes, and he blinked them open to see her leaning above him. She pursed her lips as she studied his face. She made her fingers into circles and put them around his eyes like a mask.

"Hmmm." She moved her hands away and smiled. "Definitely better this way."

"I've always thought so," Dick smiled gently, lacing his fingers with hers.

"What do ya think?" She pulled her fingers away to mimic a mask around her eyes. "Should I wear a mask to protect my identity and those I love?" she asked in a fake deep voice. Dick giggled, covering his eyes with his fingers too.

"It's a joke but it's not a joke," he smiled, laughing again. "There's a big family of blood and allies that this mask protects. Now that includes you, too. Should anyone find out that I'm affiliated with you, it could put you in danger. It separates these lives." Harley lowered her hands.

"So which life am I a part of?"

"The one that matters," Dick smiled a little, taking her hands and kissing her fingers. "Remember me telling you that my civilian life... That was my mask. It's ours. This is my life. I'm an acrobat vigilante who is the prince of one of the only standing cities on earth- in the zombie apocalypse. I'm in a five star hotel room surrounded by candles and watching the sunrise with a convicted murderer and committed psychopath who is so beautiful it takes my breath away. I have to go back out there- but I don't want to. That's the life you're a part of." Dick watched her, his hand tightening around hers.

"It sounds like a good life," she smiled. A tempting life. She had her life, a different one. The Joker. Or Nightwing. Her Puddin or Dick. They felt like two different lives that didn't mesh together and she was going to have to pick one. She'd never intended for it to end up like this. She had been bored and thought she could get intel, now she had intel and a relationship she'd never expected. _You really got yourself into a pickle this time._ "A good life every four days," she added.

"Right," he smiled, but it wasn't as broad this time. His mask off, she could see his light eyes soften a bit and the tinge of disappointment in his face, behind his smile. Always behind a smile. He scoffed quietly and looked out at the sunrise. "I should go." Dick smiled again and kissed her cheek, sitting up with her in his lap.

Harley grabbed his face and kissed him fiercely, ignoring his muffled cry of surprise. "For the love of all that is holy," she muttered before kissing him again. She knew they were getting too close; she could see it in his eyes, but she couldn't stand to see him crushed by her words. "You and that stupid smile trying ta hide your pain," she cursed him as she pushed him back down against the mattress. _Just friends. You're supposed to be friends. Just friends_ , she mentally chanted to herself as she kissed along his neck. Dick moaned, unable to stop himself, still a little in shock at her sudden change of heart. _Don't do anything stupid like get feelings for a guy who's enemies with your current guy. That should be basic logic._

Dick's fists tightened in the blankets at his sides as he looked up at the sunrise out the windows. He closed his eyes. God, he wanted to stay. "Harley... I can't..." He breathed, closing his eyes.

 _Fuck logic_. She bit his neck, and his eyes flew open when she started undoing his belt.

"Harley-" Dick moaned her name, pulling her against his chest longingly. One hand moved down her leg and held her closer, his head falling back against the blankets; his heartbeat elevated and his breathing spiked, and she felt his muscles tighten under her hands.

"And I'm pretty sure ya can," she chuckled, smiling meaningfully at him before leaning in to nip his ear. "An' I'm not _makin'_ ya stay." Her hands slowly undid his zipper. Dick moaned again, scrambling to pull her shorts off as he bit his lip. She wasn't making him stay.

That's what scared him.

Dick had accepted that he was keeping secrets. He accepted that he'd fallen for her. He even accepted that she was a known killer and Arkham patient; that didn't stop him from wanting her. He wanted her _so badly._ He was terrified, however, of what might happen if he stayed. Harley hummed against his skin as she kissed back along his neck, her legs clenching around his hips. She slid her hands up and under his shirt. Dick sighed happily and ran his hands through her hair, tangling in the loose waves falling against his neck.

"Nightwing, damn it, report," Batman snapped into the comms, and Dick let out a strangled cry of surprise.

"I'm here," he gasped, pressing his comm in his ear.

"Why haven't you switched shifts yet?" Batman asked calmly.

"Just got a little caught up," Dick cleared his throat. "I'll be out soon." Harley continued to kiss along his neck, her hands pushing his shirt up higher. Dick bit his lip to stifle a moan.

"Dick," Batman said quietly into the comms. "Do you need help? I'm sending Robin back for you."

"No!" Dick cried, a little too fast. He opened his eyes. "I mean... Batman, I'll be in soon. Just give me a bit-"

"-Dick, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but you've been acting off for weeks now. When you're back, come straight to me," he snapped, an edge to his voice.

Dick muted his comm again, stared at the ceiling, and sighed quietly. _Well, I'm already in deep shit anyway..._

He caught Harley's hands under his shirt and rolled so that he was above her, his hands feeling down her torso and gripping her hips.

"Sounds like you're in a bit of a hurry," Harley murmured, pulling his pants down to his thighs.

"Y'know what? I'm not," he bit his lip, lying through his teeth as he smiled and kissed her hard, pulling her hips against his.

"Good," she grinned, "maybe I wanted ta savor this," she taunted, tugging him against her by the waistband of his boxers. "You're still a terrible liar," she smirked, kissing him again. Dick bit her lip and kissed down her neck, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his bare chest. He smiled against her collarbone, a finger hooking in her underwear at her hip. Harley giggled, her hands running up to his shoulders. "So how much time do I have?" she asked, hooking her legs around his hips.

"I'd say his time is about up," a voice said darkly from the windows. Harley squealed and rolled to hide under the sheets, causing Dick to tumble to the floor. He scrambled for his mask and yanked his pants up before standing, pulling his shirt over his head. Robin had already walked to the bed and pulled the covers away from Harley's face. "So you're the distraction," he muttered.

"How is someone so small so terrifyin'?" she asked, yanking the blankets back up to her chin. "How much trouble am I in?"

"For calling me small or for making him slack off and ignore his actually very important job during the apocalypse?" Robin asked, pulling his hood down and dropping his earbuds over his shoulder. "You know I'm only a few inches shorter than him, right?" He jerked a finger in Dick's direction. "I'm taller than you."

Dick stared at Robin in shock. His face had gone red, and he ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. "Okay my height judgement is a little off from down here," she defended. "An' what's on the mixtape, Short Round?"

"No thanks," Robin put his hands on his hips. "Dipshit over here is already in big trouble because he's been screwing around here with you. I'd like to keep myself as far away from the situation as possible." He looked at Dick. "We've gotta go."

Dick nodded and looked down nervously, pulling his jacket on. "Jeez, I just wanted to know what you listened to," Harley grumbled. "I mean, I've never seen a real live gremlin before, I wanted ta know what kinda music they like." Oscar wandered in from the living room to sniff Robin's ankles. He knelt to scratch the dog's ears, smiling a little.

"And I've never seen a siren in real life. At what point were you planning on killing him?"

"Robin," Nightwing snapped. "Stop it. Let's go," he grabbed his brother's arm. Robin shrugged away the hand and laughed.

"Alright, alright. I was going to make a siren joke about her looks, but I just couldn't," Robin winked at her and then clapped Dick on the shoulder. "You're dead when we get back," he laughed, and then glanced at Harley. "I'm listening to Boston, by the way."

"Oh my God," she gasped, "it smiles!" She sat up, keeping the sheets up around her as she leaned against the headboard. Robin's smile wavered a bit.

"I guess it's been a while since we've crossed paths, hasn't it, clown princess?" Dick winced at the nickname. Robin glanced at him. "Come on. Finish up here, you're screwing with everyone else's schedules, not just your own," he told him sternly, walking back to the windows and onto the balcony. Dick leaned down and kissed Harley's forehead.

"Here," he whispered, pressing his comm into her hand. "If you ever want to talk. It'll contact me and only me if you ever get into a bad situation again." He sat up and then placed a grappling gun on the nightstand. "And if you ever need to get up here again," he smiled, tapping the gun. "It's a lot easier to use than an escrima stick."

"Okay, no falling without you around, got it." She caught his jacket. "One small favor?" she grinned hopefully. "Can ya take Oscar?" She glanced at the dog as he stood on his hind legs with his front paws resting on the bed as he tried to get up. Dick stared down at it.

"You're kidding me." He looked back at Harley. "You want me to go face Batman for- with _that_?" He looked down again, and Oscar started wagging his tail. Dick groaned. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Well it's either you take him or he goes back out to live with the other wild dogs an' we discussed how they could be gettin'," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "eaten an' look at him, he's practically a walking hotdog, an' I can't take him home cuz the Joker won't let me keep him and Red won't let him stay at her place anymore. I'd rather have him safe where I don't get ta see him than dead. _Please_?" she begged.

"Ok, fine," Dick scooped Oscar up and kissed her cheek with a smile. "Call me." He flashed her one last grin before walking to the windows, and she climbed out of the bed.

"And, um, another small favor." Harley blushed when he looked back. "Can whoever you're sending to the bridge be there before it gets dark?" She absentmindedly rubbed the bruises on her neck as she glanced down.

"Promise," Dick smiled before looking at her one last time. He sighed and shifted Oscar to one arm; he held up his fingers like a camera and pretended to take a picture with the other hand, keeping a mental image of her standing there with the sheets covering her thin frame, smiling at him in the sunlight.

"And last favor, I promise." She grinned. "Don't do anything stupid like die." Dick smiled at her lovingly and then stepped up on the railing, dropping over the edge and disappearing from sight. He fired a grappling hook to catch himself, and then hit the pavement running beside Robin. Titus sniffed at the dog in his arms as Dick glanced at him.

"I'm sorry, Robin," he said quietly. Robin shrugged.

"Save it. I knew what you were doing. As a matter of fact, we all knew. We, with the exception of Red Hood, myself, and Batgirl, just didn't know _who_ had suddenly caught your eye." Robin smiled a little.

"You won't tell him?"

"I believe that this is a situation best handled by taking a page from Red Hood's book; I'm not going to breathe a word in order to save my own skin. Not if he doesn't ask me. But I will not lie for you, Nightwing, not to my father." Robin sighed in relief when he saw the bridge coming up, and he slowed to a jog. Nightwing shrugged. He'd been carrying the dog and Titus again sniffed curiously at him.

"That seems fair," Nightwing ran a hand through his hair. Robin shot him a grin.

"You know he's going to tear you a new one, right?"

"Oh yeah. I'm in major trouble this time."

"...was it worth it?"

Dick laughed. "It was."

"Tt. All of these relationships. Bad for clear thought," Damian sighed. Dick chuckled again.

"Yeah well. If you'd ever been in one, maybe I'd listen to a word you said."

"Fair enough. Good luck with Father," Robin shot him a grin. Nightwing rolled his eyes as he got on his bike and balanced the dog squirming under one arm.

 _Yeah thanks. I'm gonna need it._

Dick grew more nervous as he drove through the city, and when he finally got to the tower, he didn't even want to go in. He went straight to the elevator and pressed the button to the penthouse where Bruce and Selina would be, and he waited; Dick panicked when the doors slid open and he realized that he still had Oscar under his arm.

"Dick, come in here," Bruce called, and Dick swallowed hard.

"Too late now," he muttered, taking a deep breath and stepping off of the elevator. "Look Bruce, I'm sorry that I wasn't exactly on time for patrol and that I've been kind of a mess lately, and I know that-"

"-And _I_ know all that," Bruce cut across. He was standing in the hall with his arms crossed over his chest as Selina peeked her head out of the bedroom. "What I want to know is why," he demanded. His eyes flicked down to the dog then back up to Dick's face, his expression unchanged. Dick bit his lip, desperately trying to come up with a way to lie to his father without lying to him.

"Why the dog? Because apparently Arkham citizens may be eating strays because they have no food- that's what I wanted to talk to you about, actually-"

"-First things first, we'll talk about your disregard for protocol," Bruce cut him off. "Shift change happened a half hour ago."

"I know. It won't happen again." Dick nodded. Oscar strained his neck at the ground and then looked up at Dick.

"Where were you?" Bruce demanded.

"Wit' a girl," Dick mumbled quietly, looking down. _Please rescue me, Selina..._ He begged silently.

"During your patrol?" he asked slowly, deathly quiet.

"Yeah but it's not like you don't do it," Dick mumbled again, still staring at the floor.

"What were you thinking!?"

"I don't know that I was, was I? But it's not like it matters, no harm done," Dick shrugged. Oscar licked his hand and whined, straining to the floor.

"And what if something had gone wrong? What then? And what the hell is with the dog?" he added.

"I told you, it was gonna get eaten. Which is a more important topic if you don't mind," Dick stroked the dog's ears, smiling a little, thinking of Harley's soft pigtails.

"A more important topic than you endangering everyone's lives for a fling?" Bruce countered.

"And what if it's more than a fling?" Dick glanced up at him and then shook his head in irritation. "That's not the point Bruce. I'll get my act together with that, it's not... The people in Arkham are starving. They've stripped the stores, houses; all of the places that could have food have been cleaned out. I mean obviously that's why they've been stealing the food. They don't have any. It's awful up there, Bruce, you don't know because you're never there, but- it's bad. They need help too." Bruce sighed and ran his hand across his eyes.

"Where's this intel coming from?"

"Firsthand accounts. I've seen it. Like I said, you aren't there to see it. That's what I'm there for, right?" He smiled a little resisting the urge to bite his lip as he lied through his teeth.

"And what's your plan to save Arkham when you won't even protect your own city?" Bruce asked with an edge in his voice. Dick clearly wasn't forgiven.

"Well that's a little dramatic," Dick rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"What is it Dick," he snapped.

"Negotiation." He straightened up and assumed a more serious expression, clearing his throat a bit. "Organize a meeting in three days with the Joker. I have an informant in Arkham who's close to him that I've spoken to, and-" thinking fast, Dick took a deep breath- "and _he_ says that he may be able to get the Joker to come to the bridge and negotiate with us about receiving food rations, peaceably, and stopping the raids on store houses and trucks," he nodded a little.

"So," Bruce held his hand up, "let me see if I have all of the facts. You know how bad Arkham is from firsthand experience, and you also have an informant who's close to the Joker. You're also inexplicably very interested in helping those in Arkham, and you blew off your patrol to be with a girl? Is that about it?" He crossed his arms. "I don't like you keeping secrets, Dick."

"Yeah, well, I've never liked you keeping secrets and look what it's done to our relationship," Dick said sarcastically. "I can handle myself." Bruce's eyes wandered to where a hickey was visible just under Dick's jacket collar.

"Clearly." He glared at Dick, and Dick pulled his collar up self consciously. "What are the terms that have been set for the meeting?"

"We... Hadn't done stuff like that. We thought we'd find out if you were ok with the idea," Dick confessed. "I'm meeting my informant today before dark at the bridge to seal the deal."

Bruce's sighed, mulling it over. "Someone other than you will meet your informant by the bridge," he finally decided. "The meeting is during your rest day, so at least we'll be better covered." He rubbed the back of his neck. "The meeting should be at night so I can have the supply run return early to have more men in Gotham. Just in case."

"Of course. Whatever you say. Can I request someone to meet my informant?" Dick bit his lip subtly, his words filled with hopeful hesitation.

"Depends who it is."

"Robin." Bruce let out a short laugh.

"You pick the one person I have no argument against."

"What can I say. I know you," Dick smiled a little.

"And if I question him as to why you picked him?" Bruce asked.

"Bruce, you're not an idiot. As a matter of fact, you're the opposite. I'm not telling you what; I'm not going to give you the satisfaction. But you're gonna see that my informant won't show up unless me or someone that I've okayed is there to meet them, and then we'll have no means of communication into Arkham," Dick shrugged. "So you aren't going to ask questions."

"Fine." Bruce rubbed the back of his neck. He had his suspicions; he wasn't stupid. But neither was Dick. Nightwing couldn't possibly be dumb enough to be spending his patrols with a member of the rogues gallery, and yet… "I would say there are going to be repercussions for your actions today, but you're already sacrificing most of your day off, so I have nothing to use against you."

Dick smiled a little. "And now we're only wasting each other's time," he held the dog up and made its paw wave, grinning. "See ya later, Bruce! Do we have any dog food?" He called over his shoulder as he walked back to the door.

"That thing better be house trained," Bruce yelled after him.

"Probably not!" Dick shouted back as the door closed. He pressed his comm when he got on the elevator, scratching the dog's back. Now that Harley wasn't there... He seemed a lot more attached to it. After filling every hero on the comm lines in, Dick addressed Robin directly. "I need you to go meet my informant at the bridge when I tell you to. Can you do that?"

"What did you tell Batman?" Robin asked.

"That you would."

"Damn you, Grayson," he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Jason is busy and you're the only one my informant will trust."

"Ugh," Damian rolled his eyes. "I'll meet your _informant_ if that's what will solve this problem." The disdain was clear in his voice. Dick grinned and began to talk, but Robin cut him off. "But you _owe_ me, Richard. Don't forget that."


	21. The One With The Meeting

Harley stared at the front door to the Warden's Tower. She considered turning around again. She wore her pigtails low on either side of her neck to keep the pressure off her bruised scalp. Reaching up to tug on the left one, she winced and let her hand fall back to her side.

When Dick had left, she'd gotten dressed but couldn't face coming here. So she'd cleaned and organized their room until there was nothing left to do, then she'd studied the comm and grappling gun thoroughly. Even after leaving the hotel, she'd practiced using the grappling gun a few times before finally trekking back through the city.

She'd made it to the tower before turning around and heading over to Ivy's house. Halfway there she'd thought that'd be a bad idea and turned back around. Her hand had been on the handle of the front door when she'd backed away to go to Arkham and talk strategy with Crane before once more turning around. Now she just stared at the door, anxiously rubbing the back of her neck. She hadn't been this nervous to face the Joker since their first therapy session.

Tentatively, reaching forward, she slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. She stepped in and turned to watch the door close on the sunlight, her back to the room. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face the elevator and nearly jumped, biting down on her tongue to cut off a surprised squeak, when she saw it wasn't empty. Joker was leaning against the elevator wall, smiling out at her with his arms crossed. His hair was pushed back from his face, his wiry muscled arms exposed to his fingerless white gloves at his wrists.

"Going up, Doll?" He asked quietly, smiling.

"Um, goin' ta see you," she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"Good. I've got something to show you," he smiled, gesturing for her to get on the elevator.

"Okay," Harley said slowly, glancing over at him as she walked over beside him. Joker pounded a fist on the button and Harley jumped at the noise. They began going down toward the basement. Joker stared straight ahead, smiling. "Why are we goin' to the basement?"

"I have a _surprise_ for you," he chuckled quietly. "Some of my men came back beaten half to death, said that one 'a the Robins did it to them. The pretty one. After a bit of _persuasion,_ they told me _why._ "

"I..." Harley stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "I just... You found them? They're here?" She resisted the urge to shrink away.

"Of course they're here. They're under my employ. Let's just say I was dissatisfied with their performance. I think it would be best if their jobs were terminated." He waved a hand nonchalantly and then laughed as the elevator door clanged open, and the Joker stepped out into the maintenance room with the massive generator on the far wall. Three slumped figures were tied in a pile in the center. One squirmed frantically when the Joker laughed cruelly, grabbing his hair and yanking him up on his knees in front of Harley. When he saw her, he screamed.

"J-joker- p-please-" he stuttered, his voice thick with the blood running over his lips from his nose. Joker laughed again.

"Unfortunately, he's the only one that made it through the little talk with HR, but the issue still needs to be dealt with," Joker grinned. "He needs to be taught what happens when he tries to take things that don't belong to him."

Joker forced the man at her, and he groaned at the pain in his scalp. Harley flinched away from him. Even looking up at her terrified, she could still see his eyes leering down at her in the dark.

"So. Miss Chief Operating Officer. Throw him in the furnace with his friends, who, sadly passed after their session with me-" Joker giggled forcefully throwing the man down on his face on the pavement. He groaned and sobbed into the concrete. "Or. Nygma is always hungry." Harley had a flash of her pressed against the wall as the man stared at her with no pity. Offering no mercy.

 _I don't want to be him_ , she thought. "Maybe he's gotten what he deserved," she whispered. Joker frowned.

"Getting soft? Honestly dear, I thought you'd jump at the chance." The two dead ones by his sides stirred a bit, and Joker grinned slowly. "Ah well. They'll decide for you," he hissed, backing away from the bleeding man on the pavement. One of the freshly born zombies snuffed a bit, opening his glassy eyes.

Harley knew the man was a monster and how fitting death by monster would be, but... _What does that make me?_

"Isn't..." Harley turned to the Joker. "Isn't this a little harsh?" She put a hand on his chest.

"Turned _soft,_ " Joker repeated, grinning. He grabbed her wrist where she'd placed her hand on the orange breast of his Arkham jumper. "In your time with the Nightwing, eh?" Joker laced his fingers with hers and spun her around, trapping her in his arms. Her back against his chest, he made her look down at the man.

"No... I... I'm..." Harley stuttered. She stared down at the man. She'd done just as bad to men who'd done a lot less and not even batted an eye, but she didn't want to watch the terror in his eyes. She remembered how scared she's been and this was so much worse. This wasn't revenge; this was torture. Joker stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowed.

"Well if not for you, then for me. If they think they can make a move on my girl-" she felt his lips brush her ear- "then he needs to be made an _example_ of." His thin fingers draped her leather jacket over her shoulders, the one she'd lost to these attackers. Harley bit the inside of her cheek before taking a deep breath.

"Aw Puddin," she turned to grin at him, "ya do care." And she couldn't help but feel happy that he'd go to such lengths for her. Couldn't stop the satisfaction that gave her, no matter how wrong it was. She twisted a little to see if he'd let her turn around to face him. He released her enough to allow her to move as the other two men pounced on the third, and his screams echoed in the room. Joker burst into laughter and pulled Harley away from the frenzied zombies.

"Of course I do, Doll," he laughed, dragging her onto the elevator. She looked back at the carnage before quickly glancing away.

"I just didn't know if ya were mad at him cuz he disobeyed ya. But you sure know how ta flatter a girl." She beamed as the elevator door closed.

"Yes, I know," he groaned. "Don't think that this gets you out of explaining what it is you were doing in the city."

"Visitin' with Nightwing 'a course," she shrugged.

"About what? You know I don't like you hanging around the wrong kids." Joker rolled his eyes as the elevator clattered upward.

"And I told _you_ ," Harley giggled, pointing at him, "that I wanted ta see what I could find out. Ya changed your mind about letting me outta the house?"

"Maybe a tighter curfew," he glanced at her. "What have you found out?"

"Not _too_ much. He hasn't told me that much stuff yet." She felt a pang of guilt for talking about Dick like this but was almost used to lying to everyone now. Besides, her job was still intact: gather intel for the Joker. She was just trying to convince herself that Dick's identity was irrelevant. "But I did convince him ta try and set up a meeting between you and Batman." She grinned triumphantly. She didn't know if she was trying to convince him that what she'd been doing was useful, or herself that she wasn't really betraying him.

"You... For _what?!_ " He shouted suddenly, practically fuming.

"For..." She flinched back. "For food. So we can get food. I thought you'd be happy."

"Why would I want to _beg_ like a _dog_?!" He cried, running his hands through his hair.

"We're- we're starving," she stuttered. "We need food and-and I thought you hated scavenging. It's not begging; it's... negotiating," she argued. "We get food and Gotham gets a stop to the raids. Everyone wins. Right?"

" _You_ go kneel in front of the Batman, then, and take his charity. Show him you're weak. Show him that we need him," Joker spat, his eyes flashing as he shot her a glare and stepped out of the elevator. "I'd rather _starve._ "

"You'd rather everyone starve?" She trailed after him. "Batman doesn't want us raiding any more than we want to be scavenging for food. I thought this would be what you wanted."

"' _Everyone._ ' Rather everyone starve," Joker repeated her and then scoffed in disgust. "Worrying about other people is so terribly difficult." He hesitated. "When is the meeting?"

"Three days at the Uptown bridge," she said quickly.

"Give me more details," he snapped. "How many men can I bring? I'm sure _Batman_ will have all kinds of regulations," he groaned, muttering to himself. "... _he_ won't come alone. What does Batman want? Surely it's not free. All manner of strings... I'm sure I have to bring _you-_ "

"Not too many rules were set. We uh didn't wanna try and make terms without ya." She grinned. "So far what's been established is three days, at the bridge, we get minimal security, you and B-man doin' the negotiatin.'" She shrugged. "I'm supposed ta meet someone at the bridge before sunset to finalize the terms."

"Fine. But I don't just want the food. I want Dent back, too. And I want to bring Crane. Find out what the Batman wants." Joker stared at her for a moment. "Is the meeting perchance with Nightwing?" he asked disdainfully.

"I dunno," she replied nonchalantly. "I don't even hafta be the one ta go. We both just said we'd send someone that could go. Why do ya want Dent back?"

"We take care of our own," he muttered, wringing his hands.

"You're... you're not mad at him are ya?" she asked hesitantly. Joker glanced at her and burst into laughter, grinning.

"Of course not. We take care of our own. You go, meet the bat brat at the bridge. We'll play this game. Tell them that we want Dent back, and we'll take the food that we can get. Whatever he wants he can have." Joker waved his hand dismissively. "We can play this game..." He muttered.

"And," Harley moved closer to him, "you're not mad at me are ya?" She gazed up at him hopefully.

Joker watched her carefully. "Of course not, Doll," he grinned, catching her face in his hand. "Now run along." Harley beamed back and put her hand over his.

"And when I get back?" she teased. "I think I could use a little madness then."

"Hmph. Well we'll see," he released her, frowning. "Now go. And be back within the hour." _I don't trust you._ Joker grinned again, his smile genuine. Harley pushed the elevator cage door up and hung onto it, beaming at him.

"Sure thing, Bossman." She just wanted to be sure he wasn't angry. Even though she knew she shouldn't be doing what she was doing with Nightwing, and that she was doing it for the wrong reasons, she did still want to make the Joker happy. If that meant trying harder to get information out of Dick, then she would. She didn't want to keep disappointing him, even if she didn't want to stop seeing Dick.

"Within the hour!" He laughed, watching her.

"Yes, yes," she giggled. "I'll be here." She waved vigorously before skipping off. Nudging the front door open, she bounced down into the street and pulled the comm out of her pocket. She put it in her ear and clicked it on. "Anybody home?" she chirped, hurrying down the street. "A little birdy told me I'd find a certain Wonder Boy here."

"Hey, beautiful!" Dick's cheery voice came over the comm. "Yeah, Robin will be there soon."

"Well I'm not at the bridge yet," she admitted, glancing up as she passed through the Arkham City walls. "But I thought I'd be meetin' with you," she pouted.

"Nope. Batman's got me in the doghouse since I told him what I've been up to."

"You all keep talking like I'm such a bad thing," she taunted. "I prefer ta think 'a myself as a rather nice catch."

"Well I think so," he smiled. "Even if I'm no good at fishing. Sometimes I just get lucky." She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Well with me you get lucky," she corrected, "but not when I don't gotta see ya." She grinned to herself as she walked.

"I dunno. I've been told I'm a pretty smooth talker," he replied.

"Well then are you alone?" She smirked. "Cuz that sounds fun."

He laughed nervously and smiled to himself. "Sorry, if I don't get back on the other line, I'll be in worse trouble than I already am. It's Batman's day off, so I'm Commander in Chief here in the field. Next time," she could practically hear him biting his lip.

When Nightwing is on city patrol is when Batman is on break; Harley immediately catalogued the information before feeling guilty about it. "I can't tell whether you're relieved or disappointed," she taunted. Dick laughed.

"Bit of both. Good luck with Robin," he smiled. Harley groaned.

"Do I have to?" she whined.

"He'll play nice," Dick assured her.

"Okay," she said unsurely, "if you say so." She paused when she reached the bridge. "And what about the guards," she eyed them, "are they going to play nice?"

"They're under orders. You're probably safer here than in Arkham," he commented. She could see Robin leaning against the railing on the bridge, positioned in the shadow of the massive beams. His dog stood beside him, sitting at attention.

"Um okay. I'll… see ya in a couple 'a days I guess," she mumbled, walking hesitantly forward. The line went dead and Robin straightened as if listening to his own comm, and then he turned to fix his eyes on her. They were concealed behind the white lenses of his dark emerald mask, but his expression wasn't exactly friendly. He uncrossed his arms as she stopped in front of him, the massive dog's fur standing on end, teeth bared like a hellhound.

"Hello again," he smirked, the breeze coming off of the water sweeping his cape around his ankles. The hellhound growled.

"What are you so smug about?" Harley asked and crossed her arms across her chest, wary of the horse-sized animal beside the hero. He wasn't exactly small himself.

"I'm not _smug._ I just find this whole situation ridiculous and amusing," he shrugged.

"Shh, don't say that," Harley shushed him, glancing behind her. "If my Puddin hears ya, he won't want ta do the meetin' anymore."

"Maybe _I_ don't want to do this meeting, either," Robin commented, cocking his head a bit.

"Well tough cookies. What are your side's terms?"

"Takes place in three days, at sundown, and you can bring two or three men for your own security. If you don't trust us," he smirked again, crossing his arms. She noticed his earbuds draped over his neck again, and the odd way his uniform fit him. It was too small in places, and too large in others; pieced together from old suits of his predecessors. She recognized the patches on either of his shoulders, like military badges, the emblems of the former Robins. "Your conditions?" he asked, one gloved hand stroking over his dog's ears. "Of course you want food. We'll negotiate how much and how often at that meeting."

"Okay," Harley nodded. "Joker only had two conditions. That he be allowed to bring Dr. Crane and… he wants Dent back." She bit the inside of her cheek.

"Why Dr. Crane?" Robin asked curiously, stepping closer to her as he examined the bruising on her neck. His lips pursed ever so slightly as he moved back to where he'd stood before.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "Those two are thick as thieves most 'a the time."

She could see Robin mentally catalog that information, and he pressed the comm in his ear. "Batman? They want to bring Crane, and they want Dent back," he relayed. "A-ok?"

 _Say no to Dent_ , Harley silently pleaded. She knew saying no might ruin the chances of the meeting, but she had a bad feeling of what would happen to Dent if he stepped foot back into Arkham.

"Good. We have no reason, anyway," Robin shrugged and then looked at Harley. "Agreed. We've gotten all of the information we need out of Dent. You can have him back."

Harley nodded slowly. "Okay," she said dejectedly. Robin watched her.

"You don't want him?" He asked, stepping closer.

"No I do," she said quickly. "It's just... Joker was really mad at him when he got caught."

He pursed his lips and frowned at her. "You fear for his safety?"

"Just an Eensy-weensy bit." She held her fingers up just a little apart.

"Hmm. I suppose even you people have to take care of your own," Robin commented. Harley leaned back and blinked at his words.

"Yeah. I guess." She said slowly and looked down.

"Well it's settled then. In three days time at sundown we will meet you, Crane, the Joker and one other of your choosing on the bridge. We'll give you Dent and bring a supply of food, and discuss the continued delivery of it. No stipulations on our end," he concluded with a small smile. Harley nodded seriously.

"There won't be any raids into Gotham before the meeting and so long as terms are met and agreed upon. Who will all be here from your end ta see to the negotiating? Aside from Batman."

"I have half a mind to tell you that Nightwing _won't_ be here," Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "But he, myself, and the Commissioner will be there."

"Along with all the bridge security pointin' their guns at us?" She grinned.

"Along with all of them," he agreed, smiling a little.

"Whatever makes ya feel better," she giggled. Robin nodded once and then turned to leave, hesitating for a moment before glancing at her over his shoulder. He pulled his comm out of his ear.

"This relationship, or... Whatever it is with Nightwing-" Robin turned and met her eyes- "think about who you're hurting. This is a dangerous game, with him and the Joker; you'll break one, and you'll destroy the other," he said quietly. "Think very hard about which you want to be which."

"I-I don't mean ta," she stuttered. "And," she looked down, "I'm me, so I don't imagine he means ta either. But… It's like a bad joke, huh?" She shrugged and looked back up at the sunset. "An' we're all waitin' for the punchline."

"Keep in consideration who it is you want to be the butt of the joke," Robin smiled a little. Harley wrinkled her nose.

"Well, I am a jester." She mock bowed. "I live ta entertain."

"Well _we're_ not entertained. And if you hurt him, there's no walls in the world that can keep me from ending you. Break him, and I destroy you. See? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." Harley blinked.

"Why would I hurt him?" she asked. "He's one 'a the only living friends I got left. That's not too busy ta talk to me," she added. "Well, maybe he is, but he talks to me anyway."

"Believe me, you don't have to try. Sometimes we hurt people we... Sometimes we don't mean to hurt them," Damian sighed. "Just think about what you're doing," he said finally, turning his back to her and pressing his comm into his ear. He whistled for Titus. "Done. Heading back to patrol."

Harley didn't want to think about what she was doing. She knew it was wrong, that it didn't make sense, and the whole situation made her head spin with confliction. So instead, she didn't think about it. She saluted the back of Robin's head, waved at the bridge guards, and skipped back toward Arkham. "See you guys in three days!"

* * *

The sun was sinking below the horizon three days later, a chill falling over the city with the dark blanket of night as the wind blew scattered debris through the streets. It was even colder near the water. Wind sweeping up from the river made the support cables in the bridge whip and sway, and Nightwing looked up at them. His hair was pulled loosely back, but the breeze still took the loose strands and spiderwebbed them across his face as he stared up at the cables, biting his lip. When he looked back at Batman, their eyes met.

"They'll be here," Nightwing assured him. They stood in the center of the bridge, just the two of them with the Commissioner and Robin a few feet behind; the officers on guard keeping a wary eye from the Midtown side behind them. Their guns were readied, and Nightwing felt the weight of that truth against his back, adding to the pressure of the situation. Batman's cape swept to the side on the wind as they waited.

Twenty minutes more passed, and they still stood patiently. The sun had all but disappeared, a crimson sliver on the horizon outside of Gotham, bathing the black and white city in red. Above them, dark indigo had begun to seep into the sky as it darkened and prepared for the night.

Nightwing's focus was pulled back to the Arkham side of the bridge when footsteps approached, and he closed his eyes and concentrated; four sets. One was lighter than the rest. _Harley._ He smiled when they came into view, and then he glanced down. The Joker's violet coat swept in the wind, mirroring Batman's cape as he stopped face to face, looking up at him. The Joker grinned.

"So here we are," he said, loud enough for the gathered group to hear. Joker spread his arms, and then placed his hands on his hips. He glanced at Robin and his smile faltered. "Bat-boy," Joker acknowledged. Damian nodded.

"How's the neck?"

"Stiff," Joker frowned distastefully, rubbing the scar on his throat. Damian's hand tightened on the hilt of his katana. Clearing his throat, Joker grinned at Batman. "Well? Don't leave me in suspense, Mr. Stoic. It's been so _long._ "

"Not long enough," Bruce muttered. Harley glanced between him and the Joker before her eyes flicked over to Dick. She blushed and looked down. He had to smother a grin. Joker glanced at him distastefully.

"I beg to differ darling. The year and the stress haven't been kind, Bats. You look like you could lay off the food," Joker wheezed, laughing as he circled Batman thoughtfully. Nightwing and Robin tensed, and the Commissioner stepped back, his hand on his weapon. "Have some to share?" Joker cackled, returning to where he stood in front of Batman.

"There is a truck of supplies and food parked a short ways away as we agreed to," he said shortly. He carefully took note of where Scarecrow was positioned behind the Joker and Harley beside him. Joker leaned closer to Batman, squinting a bit.

"And why is it, when Harley came to me, she told me that you didn't want _anything_ in return? What's the catch?" His emerald eyes flicked between the lenses of Batman's dark mask.

"No catch, cept that the raids stop. You guys can't set foot on this side of the bridge again, and we'll take care of you." Nightwing piped up, biting his lip with a glance at Harley. Joker's head snapped towards him, and he smiled. "We're heroes. It's what we do."

Harley watched the Joker's jaw visibly tighten, his teeth grinding together behind his smile. His eyes flashed, his hand clenching into a fist behind his coat. Joker's breath hissed past his lips and he released it. "Yes. History is written by the _winners,_ isn't it, young prince?" he breathed. Harley could hear the fury in his voice. "And Dent?" he looked back to Batman, his head twitching like a snake. Batman turned to glance behind him.

"Bring him forward." Two bridge guards walked Dent forward between them, guns firmly in hand. Harvey grinned when he saw Harley. He clearly hadn't mentally switched back to Two-Face, still suave as ever as Harvey Dent. Harley smiled hesitantly at him before glancing nervously at Nightwing and Robin before looking at the Joker and staring at the ground again. Joker grinned.

"Terrific."

In a split second, Joker had pulled his pistol from his coat and fired two shots into Dent's chest. The shots rang in the silence, and Batman and Nightwing dove forward; Batman caught Dent as he fell, choking on his blood, and Nightwing shoved Joker back furiously. The Joker cackled and swung at Dick's stomach. He blocked it easily, but Joker caught him in the face with the butt of his gun and Batman stepped in, grabbing Joker by the collar as he pulled him around and slammed him against the support beam of the bridge. His head clanged against the metal, and the pistol spun out of his hand and down towards the water below.

"You son of a bitch," Batman growled furiously.

"Put your weapons down!" Commissioner Gordon shouted to the guards and officers assembled. "Don't shoot!"

Dent sputtered on the pavement, looking up at Harley.

"It had to be done," Joker spat at Batman. "A traitor is a traitor is a _traitor._ Dent was a liability for both sides. I did us _both_ a favor-" his words were choked off as Batman's hands closed on his throat.

"Oh God," Harley gasped and dropped down beside Dent. She swallowed hard as she pressed her hands over the bullet wounds to stop the blood, already starting to darken and clot. "You're gonna be okay," she whispered.

"At least- there- were- two-" he choked, laughing a bit before he screamed in pain. His hand scrambled to find hers.

"Finally gonna end me this time, Bats?" Joker wheezed gleefully, grinning.

It had been a bad idea all along. Not to give up Dent, not to make a deal with these people; but to meet them. For years he knew that his opposition fueled the Joker's actions. He knew that when he disappeared, the Joker grew listless. The Joker hadn't seen him in a year, and he'd been without purpose. All he'd needed was a little push.

"The deal's off," he warned, releasing the Joker. "This meeting is over."

"Oh the deal- the deal was the distraction," Joker snapped. Batman turned slowly back to him.

" _What_?" he asked, tone deadly.

Harley could feel Dent's blood starting to thicken between her fingers.

"You," she looked up at the Joker, "you promised," she whispered. He ignored her.

"Harley-" Harvey choked, pressing his coin into her hand- "Don't forget me- when I change- a-and- Don't- don't waste it-" he breathed, pulling something out of his jacket shakily and forcing it at her. He flashed her a half-grin. "Be good now- you be…" he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. His muscles were tense and his body convulsed in pain under Harley's hands. A few more deep breaths and he fell still, and Harley looked down at the crumpled, unopened bag of add-water cake mix, bloodstained at the corner.

"As if I wanted your _charity,_ " Joker spat, grinning at Batman. "I'm looking forward to many more spirited meetings after this," he hissed, turning away. Crane stood frozen to the spot as he stared down at Harvey and Harley, his broken glasses over his nose.

"Batman, wait- this isn't a good idea," Dick stepped in front of him, panting.

"This wouldn't stop the raids," he snapped. "We'd just be sacrificing our people's food while he continues… whatever he's planning."

"I know but- Batman, they're _starving,_ " Dick lowered his voice. Joker grabbed Crane's arm and forced him back towards the Arkham side of the bridge, and then he turned, catching Harley's pigtail and dragging her to her feet. When she cried out, Nightwing turned, stepping towards the Joker furiously. Robin stepped in front of him.

"Don't," he warned him. Joker grinned and came back, leaving Harley with Crane; he shoved Robin out of the way and faced Nightwing, grinning.

"Got a problem, pretty boy?" he spat. Nightwing's jaw pushed forward angrily.

"Nightwing," Batman grabbed his arm and dragged him back, and the Joker cackled, grabbing Harley's arm as they started towards the Arkham side.

"Crane!" Joker called over his shoulder. "Pick up Dent."

Scarecrow stooped and grabbed Harvey's arms, dragging him along as he muttered "please don't change yet, please don't change yet…" Harley glanced back at Dent before wrenching her arm free.

"You promised," she accused the Joker, her lower lip trembling. Joker slapped her across the face.

"I promised nothing. Don't act out in front of the rest of the family," he grinned, grabbing her arm and dragging her along.

Dick stepped forward again, and Batman put his hand on his shoulder.

"No. Dick."

Nightwing stared after her. He could feel the hate curling his hands into fists at his sides. Dick took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Batman. Sorry that this didn't work out," he shook his mentor's hand off of his shoulder, walking back to their side of the bridge.

"It was never a guarantee," Bruce said drily. He'd had his suspicions about Dick, and now he knew. "We need to worry about Gotham before we start worrying about Arkham too." Commissioner Gordon fell into step beside Batman and Robin trailed behind them, his dog trotting at his heels.

"It isn't fair, even if they are…" Dick looked down. He knew that fair was impossible in the world they lived in. It was kill or be killed. Fair had nothing to do with it. But Harley… He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

"Even if _they_ are?" Bruce scoffed. "Are you really concerned for all of them, or just one in particular?" He shot Dick a look.

"Even so," Dick said quietly. Batman wasn't stupid, and Dick hadn't exactly been discreet. Bruce pulled him to a stop by the shoulder.

"I don't care how it started or why, but whatever it is, it ends _now_ ," he warned. This was unacceptable, but they had bigger things to worry about right now. He'd have to seriously talk to him later.

Dick hesitated.

"No."

"This isn't open for debate. I will pull you from the Arkham rotation if I have to."

"Fine," he shrugged, getting on his motorcycle when they reached the street. "I'll go see her on my break days. And if you do that, you can put me on double city patrol and see Selina _twice_ a week. So win-win."

"Nightwing," he reprimanded. "She is the Joker's right hand woman. If you're foolish enough to think she's using you for any other reason than things like intel and this meeting, you're not fit to be on any patrol rotation." He glared at him. "I can't have compromised people in the field."

"So what if she's using me?" he snapped. Robin glanced between them curiously. "She makes me happy. That seems to be in short supply lately. She makes me smile."

"But at what cost?" Bruce demanded. "Joker gas can do much the same."

Dick was silent. He didn't want to think about that. "Let me just think about it. I need to think..."

"I'm going to head back to my break, Nightwing, you coming?" Robin asked hesitantly with a glance at Batman. Commissioner Gordon had left already, and Nightwing was looking stretched thin.

"We have enough to worry about without you letting the Joker get to you through Harley Quinn," Bruce told him. "As far as we know, it could be part of some plan of his. It got this meeting didn't it?" He gave Dick one last meaningful look before walking away. "It ends now, and that is final." Dick looked down at the stripes on his gloves.

"I don't want to think about the consequences," Dick confessed quietly. "Haven't I earned that?"

Robin mounted his motorcycle beside him and smirked. "No. But she said something a lot like that, too." Robin glanced at the batmobile as it drove away, and Dick looked up at him in surprise. "Let's go, get some rest. Sleep on it," Robin turned his head to glance at him.

"Yeah. Yeah, let's go," Nightwing looked down. Damian pursed his lips.

"Oh come on, you're breaking my heart," he complained, revving his bike engine. Dick laughed, turning his bike on as well. They both froze as their comms crackled to life.

"This is Gordon," he said quickly. "Who's still here? I need help at the truck."

"We're on our way," Nightwing responded as Robin tore off ahead of him. When they reached the street where the food truck had been parked, Gordon was kneeling over a dead police officer, a bullet hole between her eyes. Three more lay across the street, and Dick shut his motorcycle off. "Shit."

"Damn right," Gordon sighed, standing up. He shook his head. "Truck is gone, along with at least two weeks supply of food in it."

"Deadshot," Damian looked up at Dick from where he'd knelt beside the body. Dick rubbed his shoulder.

"Yeah. Stole the food, again, and he's no doubt headed for-" Dick stopped, and then pressed his comm. "Bridge units, the delivery truck is headed towards you- do not engage! Deadshot's stolen it and killed four officers- just let him pass. We don't need any more casualties." Dick's hand dropped away from his comm. "And God knows they need the food."


	22. The One With Romeo

Harley knocked tentatively on the Joker's office door. "Puddin?" She peeked her head in. "Deadshot stopped by. They got all the food distributed." She puckered her lips as she watched him sitting in his chair. She would have liked to have seen what they'd all gotten before it was distributed, but hadn't dared to leave the Warden's Tower once the Joker had brought her back here. "How's…" she glanced over at where Dent was tied in the corner of the room, "how's everything goin'?"

"Peachy, Doll; just _peachy,_ " he hissed.

"At least we got the food, right?" she asked hopefully, stepping into the room.

"Of course. Everything went perfectly. The meeting was enough to distract from Deadshot crossing the bridge; I knew that GCPD uniform we had would come in handy." He sat with his back to her in his chair, his elbow planted firmly on the arm, his head in his hand.

"So…" She moved over to him, "what's wrong?"

"Nightwing." Harley froze.

"What about him?"

"I don't know. You tell me," Joker said, deadly quiet. She could hear the grin in his voice.

"I thought... you said I could go out of the walls," she defended. "I'm getting intel, like we agreed."

"Is that all?" he lifted his head a bit.

"I-I guess you could say we're sorta friends. But he wouldn't talk ta me if I wasn't nice to him."

"Of course," Joker purred.

"But I-he did-we got the meeting, didn't we?" She wrung her hands in the bottom of her tanktop. She was wearing red and black silk pajama shorts and camisole, her hair up in it's usual high pigtails and red and black spotted fuzzy socks on her feet. "So… it's okay?"

"We'll see," he turned his head, and she could see his green eyes gleaming in the light of the computer screens. Joker grinned. "I'm sorry about Dent. But you see why it had to be done?" Harley looked down at the floor and scratched the back of her leg with her other foot.

"No," she mumbled. "You knew he was my friend." She winced as Dent snarled from the corner. "An' I asked you not ta hurt him," she breathed.

"And if I asked you to stay here? To leave Nightwing alone? To stay with me?" He stood, walking towards her angrily. A grin spread across his face. "You wouldn't. Dent was a massive liability. He was good and he was bad." Joker cupped her face with his hand, staring at her darkly. "You can't be on _both_ sides," he said pointedly. "You can't be good and bad. It's good _or_ bad. And the definitions of the two can be bent depending on which side you're on," he whispered, a thumb tracing along her jaw.

"And are you gonna ask me?" she whispered, her eyes glancing between his. "I'm here aren't I? I'm staying. We can-we can go to bed. It's late, and you should rest, and we can just go to bed."

"We can," Joker cocked his head. He took his hand away from her face and turned it over, his knuckles stroking her face as he watched her thoughtfully. "It's been a long day." Joker agreed quietly. He stared down at her, his eyes intense in the half dark. Harley stood up on tiptoe, reaching up to grab his hand as she bit her lip.

"But it was a good day?"

"Productive," he sighed, the corner of his lip pulling up. His thumb caught her lip, pulling it away from her teeth.

"If ya think it was _too_ productive, we can rest." She grinned and grabbed the lapels of his jacket. "If not, we can get busy," she giggled. Joker laughed lightly and then took her hands away from his coat.

"Oh, Dr. Quinzel, always working. Burning the midnight oil, as it were," he glanced at the door before grinning. Joker wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest.

"I really brought my work home with me, huh?" She grinned and draped her arms around his neck to pull herself up against him. Joker's arm around her waist pulled her off of her feet as he picked her up, and he kissed her hard.

"You always did, Doll, it's what I liked about you," he chuckled against her lips, carrying her to the bedroom they shared. There was something behind his eyes, but he smiled and kissed her tenderly; how odd he made her feel, her head spinning as he pushed her against the wall and kissed her again. The Joker lifted her up, her legs around his waist as he pressed himself against her. His touch was electrifying. Joker's hair fell over his face as he kissed down her neck, his hands on her waist holding her against the wall, cool on her shoulder blades. Harley gasped, her back arching her body against him. She ran her fingers through his hair and twisted them in the strands. She pulled his face up to kiss her. Joker caught her face between his thumb and fingers, and he leaned back from her with a gasp, staring into her eyes. He grinned slowly, a deep laugh rising in his throat. It escalated until he laughed at her as he stepped back, letting her fall to the floor. He glared down at her.

"Oh Harley. Harley Harley Harley. I can taste him on your lips; I can feel him on your skin," Joker spat, grinning darkly. His hand wrapped around her pigtail and he looked at her thoughtfully, pulling her head back to examine her. "It's a shame. You used to be so beautiful," he purred, his lips brushing her neck.

"I-I just-it's," she stuttered, breathing heavily. "It's not…" She stared up at him.

"It's not what? It's not you, it's me? It's not unusual?" Joker laughed, biting her ear. "It's a shame, that's what it is. A damn shame."

"I didn't mean to," she whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. It was- I'm sorry."

"Are you?" he snapped, pulling her body against his.

"Ye-yes. Yes. Please don't… please don't hate me," she pleaded.

"I can't hate you," Joker released her, pushing her away from him and against the wall. "I'm just… disappointed," he snapped. Grinning again, he walked to the door, pausing just to look at her. "Used to be so beautiful…" he sighed, and then grinned. "Sleep well, Doll. And _don't_ come out until you've really thought about what side you're on," he laughed, slamming the door behind him. Harley winced when it hit. She slumped down the the ground, hiding her face in her knees. Her shoulders started to shake as she sobbed.

 _Why?_ she asked herself. _Why did you even do it?_ She dug her fingers into the skin of her legs. She didn't know what she'd do if the Joker hated her. He was all she had. She wiped her eyes as she looked up at the closed door.

He didn't return.

An hour passed, and then another- Harley waited where she sat, she waited on the bed, she sat in front of the door, crying until she couldn't anymore. He'd wanted her. And then he hadn't. Just like that. Because of _him._ She lay on the bed in the utter darkness, curled into a ball, picking at the soft cotton sheets until she finally got up the courage to leave the room. The lights outside must have been extinguished; the door didn't give off any light as it opened and closed behind her, and she crept into the darkness.

"Mistah J?" she sniffed, rubbing her eyes.

"Harley?"

Her eyes went wide at the voice. Harley scrambled back so quickly that she fell backwards, grabbing the lamp on the end table as a weapon and turning it on as she held it, wound up like a bat. Dick grinned at her from the dim light across the room, his hands shaking as he held himself up on the ledge of the window. His head was barely visible over the top, his face drenched in sweat.

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks," he panted.

"What the-" Harley quickly lowered her voice to a whisper, " _hell_ are you doing here?" she demanded.

"You didn't show up today. So either A: he killed you because of yesterday, which I'm relieved that he didn't, or B: you're avoiding me because of yesterday, and I was never good at remaining avoided," he gasped, grinning. "Can you help me out here, Rapunzel?" Dick finally pulled himself up onto the window ledge.

"Someone could… you could be seen," she hissed. Instead of moving to help him, her hands tightened on the lamp and she pointed it at him like a weapon. "You need ta leave."

"What?" he stared at her incredulously. "After I hoisted my ass up your tower? I just wanted to make sure you were alright!"

"Keep it down," she shushed him, glancing around nervously. "I'm fine. Please leave me alone."

"Leave you alone?" Dick's brow furrowed, and he took his mask off. "Harley did… what happened? Are you sure you're ok?" he asked quietly. His feet still dangled out the window, his arms propping himself up on the ledge.

"I'm _fine_ ," she swallowed hard, "just go away. I don't wanna see you anymore." Her voice cracked. Dick stared at her in shock before taking a deep breath, pulling himself silently over the ledge and walking across the room to pull her into his arms, hugging her without a word. She couldn't help leaning into his chest. He finally spoke after the pause.

"Did I… what did I do wrong? Is it me? Is it him?" he asked quietly, releasing her and stepping back.

"It's nothing." She held the lamp between them. " _Please_ go away."

Dick stared at her, his mask still in his hands. "Ok. Ok, I'm sorry," he breathed, turning back to the windows. He stepped up on the ledge and looked over. It had taken an immense amount of effort to climb all the way up, and he wasn't sure his aching arms would make it all the way back down. He didn't want to use his grappling hook; it was loud and left marks in the concrete, but he may not have a choice.

"What were you thinking coming here?" Harley demanded in a whisper. "Do you wanna get yourself killed?"

Dick turned his head to look at her, smiling a little as he put his mask back on. "I get a little reckless when I've got you on my mind," he confessed. "I'm reckless a lot lately."

"Why?" She stared at him. "Why are you here? What…" she shook her head, "have we been doing?" She leaned the lamp against her leg.

"I'm here because I…" he stopped himself, and stared at her in surprise. "I was worried about you," Dick said slowly, before looking down. "And we… well there is no 'we,' is there? We haven't been doing anything."

"We've done enough," she mumbled. She glanced nervously at the Joker's closed office door and took a step back toward the bedroom.

"Well we don't have to do more damage," he said, following her glance to the Joker's office. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. _Damian, you were right._

"I-I can't." She looked down and closed her eyes. "We can't see each other anymore."

"Alright," he nodded, looking away. The guilt, the panic, the humiliation; they were already blossoming red hot in his chest, and he didn't want her to see it. He'd known it was coming. Just not this soon. Harley tilted her head up to the ceiling, her eyes still closed, and nodded slightly. She was trying to not think of excuses to not say goodbye. Even staying out here this long was a bad idea. She puckered her lips as she waited to hear the sounds of him leaving.

"We-" Dick choked. "You could have-" he stopped again, pinching his eyes closed. "Right," he breathed, dropping over the ledge and holding onto it. He found his footholds in the old crumbling brick and started back down, his arms already strained with the effort. Harley jumped when there was a snarl from behind her, spinning around.

Dick froze, listening. Nygma had somehow gotten off of his chain and was slowly walking towards Harley, his white eyes catching the light of the lamp like a deer in headlights. His hands twitched and he growled again, suddenly shooting towards her in a burst of speed. Dick's escrima stick hit him in the face, and he staggered backwards as the weapon bounced back into it's owner's hand; Dick stepped in front of her and cocked his head, assessing the room. Riddler stared at him in fury and lunged again, but Dick was ready. He flipped over the zombie's head, catching it's collar and dragging it back to it's chain on the wall, securing him once again. Dick marched towards Harley and dragged her into his arms, kissing her passionately before breaking away, panting. He watched her for a moment, his lips twisted into an amused scowl.

"You are being a huge pain in the ass tonight," he told her, and then let her go, walking back to the windows.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. She looked down at the lamp she still had clutched in her hands. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, you'd think a guy like me would be used to being rejected by now, right? I just didn't want to lose a friend." Dick smiled a little, holstering his escrima stick as he stepped up onto the window ledge. His chest ached with everything he wanted to say to her, and he bit his lip, his tell. Physically holding his words back. Damian, Bruce, Barbara, Jason- they were right. There wasn't room for a gray area.

"I don't either," she sniffled. "Dent's already..." She wiped her eyes as she started to cry again. "I'm just not supposed ta be... _We're_ not supposed ta be..."

Dick sighed quietly, stepping off of the balcony and into the room yet again. He walked across the room and hugged her again. "Shhh. It's okay. You'll be fine," he stroked her hair. His jacket was wet, and he smelled like rain. He was hurt, yes, but he couldn't stand seeing her cry.

"Ya shouldn't be here," she mumbled. Her hand clung to him. She couldn't help it; this close, she didn't want him to go. She hated herself for it. She hated being a sniveling mess.

"Right now I'm okay with being a guy. Not a hero, not- the Prince of Gotham- whatever- just a guy, and a pretty girl is crying." Dick smiled a little, stroking her hair.

"I'm..." She wasn't supposed to come out of the room until she'd thought about what she'd done, until she'd picked a side. And here she was back in Nightwing's arms only a room away from where the Joker was waiting. "I'm not supposed ta see you anymore," she whispered, leaning back to look at him. She'd been so sure she'd decided, then he'd showed up at her window. "He's mad at me because 'a us." She realized she was still holding the lamp in her hand. "I'm not supposed ta see you anymore."

"Oh. Okay," he said sadly, smiling a little. "I'm sorry. Just... Give me a smile before you kick me out?" He chuckled, whispering.

"Is that really a good idea?" She remembered what had happened when she'd tried to set ground rules keep them distracted. "And I'm not even supposed ta be out here let alone... Did you really just climb all the way up here?"

"Grappling hooks are loud and messy," he laughed. "And it hurt my arms a little," he grinned.

"Someone coulda seen you," she accused him.

"I'm a bat. I learned stealth. Darkness and stuff," he bit his lip, taking her hands. They still stood close enough to feel each other's heat. The rain on his coat smelled so sweet and inviting as he smiled. "I just... I wanted to see you."

"But why?" She stared at him. "Why me? You know who I am and what I've done... who I'm with. Why have we been doing this?" She'd wanted to pretend nothing had been happening, but now that everything was falling apart anyway, she wanted to know.

"We both wanted an escape. _I_ wanted an escape. And there's something about you..." He trailed off, again biting his lip. She couldn't put her finger on what he was thinking. "Why does there have to be a 'why'? I've grown to- I've taken a fancy to you. A shine, a liking- whatever-" he shook his head and looked down. "You're pretty cute, you know that?"

"It's the pigtails," she smirked.

"I think it is," Dick chuckled and his lips brushed her cheek, his eyes fluttering closed. He sighed slowly.

"We shouldn't," Harley breathed. "You shouldn't be here." She moved the lamp back between them. "He's," she looked down, "already mad at me."

"Well we can't have that," Dick muttered, a smile flickering across his lips as he jerked a thumb towards the other room. "He in there?" Dick grinned, stepping away from her. "Well maybe we need to have a little chat. See eye to eye," he giggled, still whispering as he walked towards the door.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed. He'd never acted like this before. She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the bedroom. "You're gonna get us both in trouble." She shoved him in the room and carefully closed the door behind them.

"Well I can protect you, and like I said- you make me a little reckless," he grinned, catching her waist and spinning her into his arms.

"You're such a jerk." She rolled her eyes and swung the lamp at him. Dick caught it and twisted it out of her hand, wrapping his arms around her. He dipped her low to the ground as if they were dancing, his other hand placing the lamp on the bedside table silently as he smiled down at her.

"Now don't get too violent, people might hear," he whispered, grinning. "Look. I'm not saying that what we do is right or wrong, it just _is._ There aren't supposed to be sides in things like these, Juliet, so let me be your Romeo," he laughed at his own words, still holding her in a dip.

"There are sides," she corrected him quietly. "And ya hafta pick one. There's no room for gray. Not in this world."

"You're wrong," he whispered, taking his mask off to look into her eyes. "The whole world is gray. Nothing is black and white. It's killing in self defense, it's watching a murder and doing nothing to stop it, it's ugly bystanders and..." Dick stroked her cheek gently, his fingers trailing down her neck as he exhaled slowly. "And beautiful killers. It's all gray. It's never simple, and it's never easy. There aren't two sides. There are many, and I'm taking my own," he breathed, his lips brushing hers.

"But we can't have a side." She smiled gently. Dick frowned.

"Who says?"

"You're not supposed ta be nice to me, remember? You're supposed ta hope I get bit by a zombie or fall out a window, and only bats fly."

"Well I'm supposed to save people. That's all I know." Dick kissed her neck gently. "If you get bit, I'll help. If you fall, I'll catch you," he whispered, lifting her up, his arms still around her waist.

"Ya can't help me if you get bit first." She gently bit his neck and giggled. "Looks like you're Infected."

"No! You're too powerful-" he choked, laughing quietly as he stumbled back and tripped, crying out as he fell against the floorboards, Harley's hands planted firmly over his mouth. Dick trembled, his eyes wide.

"Ya know, zombies around here that cause trouble tend ta get silenced." She gave him an amused half smile. Dick kissed her hand and then smiled up at her.

"I'll take my chances," he whispered quietly, reaching up to kiss her gently. Harley leaned away.

"This... isn't right," she breathed. Not only had the Joker asked her to stay away from him, not only had she been about to do it, but they were in her and the Joker's place. This would be the worst betrayal. "He," she looked down, "doesn't want me because of you." Dick stared at her before dropping his head back on the floor.

"Right. I understand," he breathed, closing his eyes. "Well. That was a bit anticlimactic," he yawned, sitting up with her in his lap. Dick kissed her cheek. "I should go."

"I know." Harley nodded as she scooted back from him. The Joker didn't want to be near her because of her relationship; it only made sense that Dick felt the same. "I guess this is goodbye."

"You know you only have to ask. I don't care about him. If you want me to leave, I'll leave, but if you say the word- I'd stay," he said quietly in the dark, smiling a little. "I'd stay in a heartbeat."

"I can't." She looked down. "Please don't ask me to pick."

"I'm not. He's making you pick. I want you to want what you want-" he sighed and stood- "but it's pointless arguing with you. Good night Harley." Dick glanced out of the room, and then quietly slipped out the door. Harley stared at the door in shock before blinking slowly.

"Night," she mumbled to herself, standing up. She tugged at the hem of her tank top as she shuffled over to the bed and turned the covers down.

"Damn it," Dick snapped as he came back into the room. "I'm not done with you yet. I was gonna stay quiet, but now I'm not- I'm not even sure what I'm doing-" he ran his hands through his hair. He still hadn't put his mask back on, and he bit his lip nervously. _What the hell are you doing?!_ He never would have done something like this, but she'd struck a chord. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly. "This is _insane._ I can't just leave you here after fighting undead and thugs and murderers all the way here and then climbing all the way up- and I can't tell you _why_ I can't leave you here, because I don't even know myself. You- you are downright crazy. You're with him, I get that, but damn it- he's- you're just- he's not good enough for you," he said lamely, his furious whispering losing its steam.

"He's... That's..." Harley was still reeling from his abrupt return. "He's all I have, and I love him. You said we pick our sides, and I'm on his. Why can't ya accept that? Yeah, he's crazy and so am I. I'm in a freakin looney bin. I'm dating the most notorious criminal probably still alive. I end up screwing the guy who I'm supposed ta gather intel from. And you think I'm too good for anyone?"

"You are. Too good for me, and too good for him," Dick nodded. Crossing the room purposefully and grabbing her by the shoulders before kissing her passionately. He pulled away with a gasp. "And he is _not_ all you have. You've got me going crazy over you, too," he grinned, kissing her again. Harley's hands hung lamely at her sides in surprise. She'd said goodbye to him so many times tonight, but here he was. Joker hadn't wanted her as she was throwing herself at him, but Dick was still here no matter how many times she pushed him away. She grabbed his face, kissing him back furiously as she pressed herself against him. Dick kissed her slowly, savoring the taste of her tongue on his. "You know you're starting to confuse me," he panted, kissing her again.

"That makes two of us," she mumbled, pulling him down to her by his jacket. Dick moaned quietly and wrapped his arms around her. _I can't just leave you. And I can't tell you why._ He bit her lip, pulling her close. _Because I think I love you._ Harley's hands slid up his neck and into his hair, her thumbs tracing the spot on his cheekbones where his mask usually was. Dick kissed her slowly, inhaling as he did, savoring every touch of her hands on his skin, her lips on his. His hands twisted in the silky fabric of her tank top at her hip. She hooked her leg behind his and pushed him back against the bed. She held him down by his shoulders and sat on his hips.

"Ya know what I said about the girl ya like not being your type?" she murmured, kissing along his neck. "I think I was wrong. Apparently ya love danger," she whispered. She didn't know what the Joker would do if he found Dick here, and she didn't want to think about it.

"I'm a rebel like that," he gasped, closing his eyes as he held her close, his hands resting on her hips.

"Well rebel boy," she kissed his cheek, "you can't do it again," she said seriously. "You can't come back here."

"I know. I just had to see you," he breathed and kissed her ear, pulling her pigtails out and sighing as her hair tumbled over his face.

"Promise ya won't come back into Arkham?" She sat up, her hands trailing down his chest as she smiled at him.

"Promise," he smiled, catching her hand and kissing her fingers.

"And," she hesitated for a second, "I dunno if I can come visit ya on your patrols anymore." She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked down at him.

"Go back one day. We can meet on my break days, just before my patrol- it'll be safer that way. For both of us. That is, if you still wanted to..." He bit his lip as he trailed a hand up her leg.

"What I want ta do and what I should do are two very different things." She grinned and leaned back down, brushing her lips along his throat. "For instance, I think some 'a the things I wanna do ta you aren't legal."

"Good thing I make the law around here," he moaned quietly, his hands tightening on her hips.

"You're in Arkham, Wonder Boy," she reminded him, sitting back up. She pulled her tank top off over her head with a smirk. "There is no law here."

"Then there's nothing preventing you from doing what you want," Dick sighed, sitting up to kiss along her collarbone. His hands slid down her back slowly, and he began kissing down her chest. She gasped, her back arching as she yanked his jacket off his shoulders. She fumbled to undo his utility belt. Dick kissed her skin tenderly, before biting the lace trim on her bra as he grinned. "We should be fast," he groaned, kissing her chest. His fingers tightened on the skin of her back, pulling her closer. "But not _too_ fast," he breathed.

"You're Infected remember?" she teased, biting his ear. "So ya got zombie speed," she giggled. "But that's okay because I know the way to take care of a zombie is through their head," she murmured, finally getting his utility belt unclipped. Dick moaned and bit his lip, laughing quietly. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard, falling back on the bed with her.

"You know, I'm starting to get what you mean by the zombie smell," he muttered, chuckling.

"Oh?" She slid her hands up under his top, pulling it up. "And how's that?" She kissed down his chest.

"Well first of all, I didn't know you actually lived with them," he moaned, his back arching a bit as he bit his lip. She grimaced up at him.

"Not by choice." She grinned as she kissed along the top of his jeans. "The real issue I'm having is _why_ ," she undid his belt buckle, "ya have so many damn layers." Dick moaned quietly, trying to remain silent as he caught her face and pulled her back up his torso to kiss her slowly.

"Keeps me protected," he reminded her, laughing.

"Well it's annoying," she muttered, her hands sliding into his hair and pulling him to her. Dick sighed into her kiss. When he was with her, his brain shut down. He wasn't thinking about his job, or anything else- It was just her and him, and no distraction. Dick bit her lip, yanking her shorts down over her hips. Harley grinned, biting him back. Her legs wrapped around his waist as she rolled them over, grinning up at him as she undid his jeans. His breath came in heavy gasps as he pulled her against his chest, kissing her hard, pressing his hips against hers. One hand tangled in her hair and held her closer, Dick's lips locked with Harley's. He had to make a conscious effort to remain quiet. Harley moaned against his lips, her back arching and her legs tightening around his waist. She tightened her hands in his hair as she gasped for air before kissing him harder. Dick's back arched and he tore her bra off, kissing her again. His lips tasted sweet against hers, one hand trailing down the smooth skin of her leg around his waist to her hip. His thumb hooked in her underwear and he pulled it as far as it would go before pulling her against him.

"Ya know," Harley pulled his head back so she could kiss along his neck, "you're not supposed to be here," she reminded him. She grinned at him as she slid her hands down to the waistband of his underwear and tugged at it. Dick pulled her underwear the rest of the way down and he panted for a moment, his hair falling down around her face.

"Tell me something I don't know," he gasped, his hands twisting in her hair.

"Well did ya know you're incredibly cute when you're breaking the rules?" She smirked, leaning up to kiss him again. Dick moaned into her kiss, letting his hands explore her exposed skin.

"And you're pretty hot when you're playing the hero," he breathed against her lips. His fingers traced every scar on her body, moved with every motion she made. "You save my skin a lot, you know that?" He chuckled, kissing her neck. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. She savored the feel of him on her skin.

"Don't spread that rumor around," she laughed breathlessly, "you could ruin my reputation."

"Your secret is safe with me," he whispered against her skin, kissing her throat. One of his hands slid under the small of her back, pulling her against him, and the other trailed over her skin to cup her face as he kissed her passionately. Harley rolled them over again, yanking his boxers down as she grinned at him.

"I thought ya wanted to be fast," she reminded him, leaning down to brush her lips against his.

"But not too fast," he whispered, his chest heaving. She made everything difficult, including breathing.

"I've seen grandmas faster than you," she taunted and pulled at his bottom lip with her teeth, smirking at him.

"I _really_ hope not in the same setting," he chuckled, moaning. He kissed her slowly, his hips pressing up against hers as he held her close.

"It's not like that would be the worst thing I've ever done." She laughed and kissed his nose. "If it was the same setting." She placed her hands on either side of his head. "Why? Are you jealous of a fictitious little old lady?"

"Not as long as you assure me that I'm better than this fictitious old lady, so my easily bruised ego doesn't get wounded," he laughed. Harley smiled and kissed him slowly.

"You're much better than a fictitious old lady," she murmured.

"Mmmm ego restored," Dick smiled against her lips, his fingers lacing with hers cradling his face.

"Mmmm good," she mimicked. She leaned down and kissed him hard, her tongue tying with his. Dick kissed her back, pulling her close.

The fact that he was in the Joker's bed, the fact that he was dead center of Arkham City, the fact that he was blowing off his patrol- _again_ \- couldn't phase him. Not with her here. If anything, it made the high better. She was addictive, and he needed his fix; not thinking about the consequences. Not until they'd finished, and he was hastily getting dressed again. Only then did he realize that a decision would have to be made. _Choose her, or don't._ Dick bit his lip as he pulled his pants up.

"I guess I'm really bad at tellin' someone I don't wanna see them." Harley propped herself up on her elbows as she watched him get dressed.

"And like I said, I'm not very good at remaining ignored when you want to avoid me," he laughed, pulling the top of his Nightwing suit over his head. Harley groaned and fell back against the pillows.

"I'm in so much trouble." She hid her face in her hands.

"Hey that's a theoretical problem. If you don't tell, nobody has to know," Dick shrugged, sitting down to pull one of his boots on when there was a knock on the door. Even in the dim light from the lamp, Harley could see Dick's face go white.

"Harley?" Joker said outside the door. It was calm, but already impatient.

Harley sat bolt upright and stared at the door. She turned to Dick, her face panicked. "Bathroom," she mouthed and shoved him up. "Um, yes?" she called, pushing Dick toward the bathroom door.

"Harley open the door please," Joker called anxiously. Dick grabbed his jacket and his other boot, and he halted when he saw the window.

"You think I'll fit through that?!" He hissed, yanking his boot on. Harley looked between him and the door desperately; she looked dangerously close to hysterics.

"I don't..." She looked around like she hoped another option would present itself.

"Okay okay calm down. In three days I will be waiting in our safe house, ok?" Dick threw a towel around her shoulders to cover her up and ran a hand through his hair. If they were found, they'd both be in big trouble, but Dick would be dead. She was amazed at how level headed he was. "Just go-" Dick stole one last kiss before shoving Harley out the door. She closed it behind her. He took a deep breath and then let it out, bracing his hands on the frame of the small window. He quietly slipped his legs out, freezing for a moment when he heard the Joker.

"I heard voices, Doll, you weren't talking to yourself again, were you?" He laughed, but there was an edge to his voice. Dick bit his lip.

"I just got out 'a the bath and couldn't find a towel," Harley mumbled, trying not to blush. The fact that there was still sweat beaded on her skin helped with the lie. Joker smiled and stepped closer to her, his lips brushing her neck as he inhaled deeply. He stepped back thoughtfully and then looked around the room.

"Of course," he said quietly, looking at her carefully. Harley jumped when she heard the drain in the bathroom, and Joker's head snapped towards the bathroom.

Dick quickly screwed the cap back on his empty canteen and shoved it back into his utility belt, slipping the rest of the way out of the window. He braced his hands on the sill and searched for footholds beneath him.

Joker stepped towards the bathroom. Harley chased after him, putting her hand on his arm.

"Was there something ya wanted, Puddin?" She beamed at him.

"Just checking on you. You're not usually this quiet," he breathed, grinning. He pushed the bathroom door open, and his smile faltered as he looked around. No one was there. "Did you have a relaxing bath, Doll?" Joker asked, running his fingers along the edge of the tub. His fingers came back wet.

"Not really." Her eyes flickered around the empty bathroom and she clutched the towel tight. "I never really relax after we fight."

"Of course," he breathed, touching her hair falling over her collarbone. Joker walked past her and left the bathroom. Dick's head popped up over the windowsill and he flashed her a grin before he suddenly slipped, crying out as he fell a few feet, grabbing a ledge to stop himself. Harley immediately slipped and cried out, trying to cover up his noise. She caught herself on the tub and glanced over at the Joker. He ignored her, walking back to the door. "Have you thought about what you've done?" He asked casually, looking around the room. She slowly righted herself.

"I have." She bit the inside of her cheek. Joker smiled darkly.

"Good. Get dressed, and we can go to bed," he walked away from the bathroom door, looking down at the carpet. He cocked his head thoughtfully and knelt. Harley glanced back at the bathroom window before closing the door and following him.

"So is everything okay now?"

"Oh. Peachy," he grinned, standing as he slipped Nightwing's mask into his pocket.


	23. The One With The Shan Family

"Okay, let's run through this again," Tim sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We know they have massive amounts of brain degradation when fully Infected, but Scarecrow's Fear Toxin made them afraid."

"So not permanent damage," TJ offered. "Reversible."

"We've been over this a hundred times," Barbara complained, rubbing her eyes.

"But how can we reactivate other parts of the brain?" Tim muttered to himself. "The blood's too slow."

"Well Crane did it, knowingly or not, with his toxin. Whatever that new crap he made was. It wasn't just Fear Toxin, there was Joker Gas in it, too," Barbara looked up at TJ, who was leaning against her desk twirling a pencil in his fingers.

"Right. It's like the feeling of intense terror reanimated dead- or dormant- synapses in the brain," he thought aloud, shaking his head. "But that doesn't make any sense! _How_!?"

"And even if we could figure it out, the blood's too slow," Tim added. "There wouldn't be enough oxygen to the brain to keep a fully functioning brain alive. So we have to cure the blood _and_ the brain."

"Well," Steph grinned from the doorway, "sounds like you guys have a bunch of problems."

"We um… hi, Spoiler," Tim glanced at her and smiled a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, I know I said I'd see you on this break round- is it your break already?" he turned to glance at the clock on his computer. "How long have we been up?" he looked between TJ and Barbara.

"Relax, drama queen," she laughed. "I switched shifts around and got break early. Sunrise was about twenty minutes ago, but I brought snacks." She tossed a couple bags of chips on his desk.

"Thanks," he mumbled, picking up a bag. "How was Patrol?"

"Fine, but I think Nightwing got his ass chewed for something." She pulled open a bag of cheetos.

"Yikes. No idea what for?" Barbara asked, leaning back in her chair. Steph shrugged, popping a cheeto into her mouth.

"Something about slacking off on Arkham Patrol I think. He was late making a shift change." Barbara winced.

"Yikes. If Batman finds out why, he's in deep shit. If it's what I think it is," she sighed, shrugging. Tim looked between them.

"Wait, I don't want to know. Please don't say."

"What's wrong with you, Red Robin?" Barbara looked at him quizzically, smirking.

"I just don't want to find out. I want to focus on my work, without all of this gossipy stuff," he sighed. Tim straightened up, stretching his sore back. Steph smacked his chest.

"Well if you don't want to know, cover your ears, but this I gotta hear."

"Fine," he stuck his tongue out at her, smiling a bit as he caught her hand and pulled her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Steph rolled her eyes, but her smile was hidden by the bandana around her face.

"Well apparently, Nightwing's been kind of infatuated with a certain someone who lives in Arkham City," Barbara hedged, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Anything to do with whatever happened at the bridge the other night?" TJ asked. They all looked at him, and he looked up from the bag of Doritos he was digging into. "What? I have a brother on the force, and he said something went down with the Joker and a few officers didn't make it back alive."

"Yeah. Word from his mouth is that he's been seeing Harley Quinn," Barbara said quietly, glancing around the room at the other scientists, paying no attention to them. Tim groaned as Steph burst into laughter.

"See, this is why I didn't want to know…"

"He is _not_!" She continued to laugh. "Batman is going to kill him."

" _If_ he finds out. Which I trust none of us will rat on him, unless it's for his own safety. That being said, I'm considering ratting on him." Barbara said quietly, smirking.

"Oh my God," Steph shook her head, "what is he thinking? That is such a bad idea."

"It's Nightwing," Tim muttered. "He's not thinking with the head on his shoulders."

"Come on, Red Robin, he's not that bad and you know it. I just don't know _why_. Why would he go to _her_?" Barbara shook her head.

"You mean 'why not you?'" Steph grinned. Barbara blushed and looked down.

"No, I just mean- well it's not like- it does make a girl feel pretty shitty," she sighed, rubbing her hands on her jeans with a shy glance at TJ. "I mean two days before he started his… I don't know- his _rendezvous_ with the Joker's girl, he told me he loved me. Apparently when I didn't respond in kind, he just moved on. Just like that. With someone far more dangerous and- I'm right _here_ , all the time, and he goes out of his way to go see her? He goes _so far_ as to disobey Batman, shirk his duties, sneak around… when I'm willing to be right here for him? How is that _supposed_ to make me feel?" Barbara looked down. TJ and Tim stared at her, a bit stunned, the awkward silence hanging between the four of them. She chuckled a bit. "Sorry, guys. I don't know what that was," Barbara laughed, tugging at her Batgirl cowl over her face.

"Awkward," Steph assured her. "That was awkward." She grinned.

"Yeah," she chuckled a bit, her cheeks pink. "Sorry, guys…"

"Well it was already more information than _I_ wanted to know," Tim laughed, his arms tightening around Stephanie's waist a bit as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What was?" Impulse asked from Tim's elbow as the computer brought up the alert that the Flash had used his code to get into the lab. "I wanna know," he said from beside Barbara.

"No," Steph whined. "It's break day."

"Sorry kid," Barry laughed as he grabbed a bag of chips. "It's not like we meant to ruin your day."

"Hey, Impulse! Long time no see," Tim laughed, stepping away from Stephanie to give him a hug. "Glad to see you're not undead."

"Ditto." Bart grinned. "Nice to see you to," he said from behind Steph who rolled her eyes. "And who's this?" he asked when he appeared at TJ's side; TJ jumped.

"There's a smaller more talkative one," he muttered.

"TJ. The lab guy that broke the centrifuge," Barbara smiled.

"Hey!" Bart cried. "That was you?"

"Jeez, does everyone have to know?" TJ shot a glance at Barbara, and she shrugged.

"I'm glad I know," Steph laughed.

"I'll let Batman know you're here," Tim told Barry. "It's his day off as well, so I don't think Catwoman's going to be very happy," he warned.

"Yikes, she might come down here with him," Barbara winced. "That'll be an interesting one." Tim pressed his comm.

"Batman…" He waited for a response.

"Yes, Red Robin, go ahead. I assume the Flash is here?" he said calmly. Selina sat up from where she straddled Bruce's waist, half dressed with her hair a disheveled mess.

'No,' she mouthed the word pleadingly, shaking her head.

"Yes sir," Tim replied. "Both him and Impulse."

Bruce pursed his lips, watching Selina. "I'll be right down," he finally decided. Her face twisted in anger, and she got off of him, walking away from the bed to the closet. "Selina," he sighed, sitting up.

"What?" She called nonchalantly. She didn't sound angry, but he could hear her whipping her clothes off of the hangers.

"You know I would stay here if I could." He began pulling his suit back on.

"Oh I know. But something _always_ has to get in the way," she snapped, yanking her boots on. Bruce pulled his cowl on and walked over to the closet. He caught Selina around the waist and spun her around to face him.

"I will make this as short as I possibly can," he assured her.

"I know you will," she pushed his hands away, "I'm coming with you." Selina pulled her cowl over her head, buckling it under her chin. "I'm going to give that speedster a piece of my mind."

"Selina," Bruce grabbed her chin and made her look at him, "this isn't his fault."

"No, it's _your_ fault," she snapped. "It's the damn apocalypse and Batman can't even take a few hours off. Ya spend twenty minutes with me, and uh oh! Time to go back to work," she slapped his hand away from her face.

"You know I don't want to go back to work. You know I want to stay here with you." He watched her carefully.

"Sure you do, Bruce. Now let's go." She crossed her arms angrily. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked dangerously close to an outburst.

He gave her a long look before nodding slowly. "All right. Let's go." She gestured for him to lead the way out the door and then followed him to the elevator. They got in and Selina smacked the button for the labs, standing in tense silence. "How have your sessions with Jason been going?" he asked.

"They've been fine. Don't think that I didn't catch your roundabout way of telling me to calm down," she snapped, her arms tense over her chest.

"Has he been a decent teacher, or did you want me to find someone else?" Bruce glanced at her.

"Jason's just fine. If you'd stop undermining his confidence, that is. You never give him any breathing room or any sign that you're proud of him." Selina tugged angrily at the black hair curling out from under her cowl.

"I have complete confidence in him." He watched the elevator doors. "That's why I asked him to help you, and why I trust him to keep track of Poison Ivy when she decides to visit Gotham." He stepped through the doors and turned to see if she'd follow. Selina stared at him.

 _Ivy? She's ok? She's alive?_ Selina couldn't help but be happy for a moment, but then her anger took over again. "Ivy is alive?! Why didn't you tell me?!" She marched past him towards the lab doors.

"I didn't know if it'd matter to you," he defended. "And you were stressed enough as it was; it didn't seem important."

"She's my friend! It wouldn't make me more stressed, it'd make me less so! I don't have any friends, Bruce, I have you and that stupid cat that follows me around on my city patrols-" Selina stopped and took a deep breath. "And even you're only here in body. Don't pretend your head isn't out in the streets when you're with me," she said calmly, walking into the labs on her heeled boots, her hips swaying infuriatingly as she did. "Hey speedster, thanks for interrupting my designated twenty-four hours with my husband. But I suppose you know how that feels," she leaned down against the desk beside Barbara.

"Do I ever," Barry laughed.

"So she's mad at you." Steph pointed at Bruce and grinned. He pinched the bridge of his nose angrily and Selina watched him.

"Spoiler, sweetie you have no idea. So get to work, damn it, get this show on the road," she urged, picking up a pen off of Barbara's desk.

"We've exchanged all updated information," Tim explained, "but the Central City lab has made about as much progress as us."

"So, _no_ progress," Selina mumbled.

"We've been focusing on the different levels of resistance to the Infection," Barry added, "but so far," he shook his head, "nothing."

"We can build resistance- not in vaccine form yet- but we still can't build, make, find, synthesize, grow immunity." Tim rubbed the back of his neck. "We've even tried cross referencing known immunities, relying heavily on those with the most humanlike physique."

"Namely Superman, Martian Manhunter because of his shapeshifting abilities, and Impulse and myself," Barry said.

"So you've all gotten nowhere," Selina sighed. "Well that's real damn reassuring."

"Ouch," Barbara laughed. "Take it down a notch."

"I'll be fine as soon as I can get out of here," she mumbled, shooting a glare at Bruce.

"What's the update on the Fear Toxin?" he asked.

"Definitely administered post Infection," Tim told him. "It's a different strand than we saw Scarecrow using before the initial Infection took place."

"So he's experimenting," Bruce said. He nodded once. "Keep me updated." He turned to Barry. "Flash, it was good to see you."

"Oh you too, Batman. And Hal says hello. Er- Green Lantern. You guys still use secret identities, right?" he grinned. " _Green Lantern_ says hi," he winked.

"Very smooth," Steph complimented him.

"Tell Green Lantern I hope he's staying out of trouble," Bruce said.

"Can do. And if I see Supes on my way home, I'll tell him you say the same," Barry grinned. Selina smiled a little, watching them. Bruce nodded.

"And don't forget to take that one with you." He nodded toward where Impulse was steadily working his way through his third bag of chips.

"What, no sleepover?" Red Robin laughed, clapping Impulse on the back. "See you next time, buddy."

"You two feel free to rest here and eat- well, not as much as you like, but eat something before you go," Selina said quietly.

"See you in another couple of weeks," Bruce told him before heading out of the lab. Selina stood and followed him.

"Did you see that lovely demonstration of how well I can control myself?" she muttered irritably as she got onto the elevator, not looking at him.

"I know you can control yourself." He stepped on the elevator behind her and pressed the button for their floor. "I also know that most of the time you don't want to."

"Because I don't want to be a faceless iceman like you," she looked away from him, her arms crossed. Bruce looked over at her.

"It's not that I'm emotionless," he said quietly.

"Keep telling yourself that, Spock," she muttered. He nodded, waiting in silence for the elevator to reach their floor. "How can you do that," she glared at him, stepping closer to him to look at his face. His eyes were hidden behind the lenses of his mask. "I mean it's obvious you're indifferent to everything, but do you have to just..." She looked away. "The emotionless facade hurts, Bruce. I know you care. But it's pretty cold from the outside looking in. Especially since I _can't_ see in."

"But this emotionless facade is who I am," he reminded her. "You can be mad at me, but I can't change. I do care about you and worry about you. All the time. When I'm out there, all I'm thinking about is being back here; not the other way around. I'm sorry if I don't make that clear." The elevator stopped and the doors opened, but he waited on Selina.

"Just go. I want to clear my head," she whispered sadly, still staring at the floor. Her arms were wrapped around her waist insecurely. He looked at her for a long moment before stepping off of the elevator. When the doors closed Selina sank to the floor sadly. "I didn't mean it, you idiot," she started to cry, pressing her comm. "Jay, sweetie, help me..." She sniffed.

"Whoa, hey Selina." Jason paused by the side of the truck he'd been checking. They were halfway through a supply run, and he wanted to make sure they were getting what they needed. "What's up?" He signaled for Batwoman to take over.

"I don't know, I just..." She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. Batwoman glanced at Jason curiously.

"Just take a second to breathe and tell me what happened." Jason stepped away from the truck.

"I don't know what happened," she cried. "I just... Bruce just made me so mad and now I just want to..." She rubbed her eyes, and then cried harder when she saw the eyeliner smudged on her gloves.

"Take a moment to calm down. What made you mad?" He flicked the comm off for a second as Selina tried to get control. "Batwoman," he called. "Check on the officers. I don't want to lose any more men." He turned the comm back on.

"He... He had to go to the labs because Barry showed up. And it was our break, and he had to go… I was so mean to him, Jay. I was so rude and terrible and hurtful..." She took a deep breath. "And he's so calm and... I love the whole stoic Batman thing. But- but- would it kill him to raise his voice every once in a while? To- to- to get upset when we fight? To smile at me?"

"You know that's not how he is," Jason sighed. "I think it would kill him to smile." He rubbed a hand across his mouth. "Listen. That partying playboy he was in public, _that_ was his mask. The stoic vigilante who will dedicate hours to protecting a city who will never fully understand... that's the real him. Him spending hours worrying and not saying anything is how he shows he cares. I know it sucks, but that's how he is."

"I know!" She shouted angrily, and then covered her mouth, afraid of her own outburst. "...I don't want him to be anything but himself. He doesn't love me like he loves you boys... He won't... He's just emotionless. He'll yell at you. He'll laugh at Dick. He smiles at Cassandra..." Selina stared at the ceiling. "Fuck it. I'm going to go work off some steam." She stood, pounding the elevator button so hard it stuck.

"Selina," he groaned. "You're too emotional. You need to calm down. He does love you differently, but think about it. The more withdrawn he is, the more concerned he is. The reason he seems more emotionless with you is because he loves you the most. The rest of us can see it."

"Well right now, calming down is going to require me to destroy a punching bag while imagining it's my husband. Kay? If he doesn't want to spend time with me, then screw him. Which I won't. Because he doesn't want to see me." She rubbed her temples.

"Of course he wants to see you. All that he looks forward to is his break days." Kate got his attention and nodded to him to let him know everything was proceeding properly.

"Stop messing with my head!" Selina snapped, but she felt guilty. She knew she was being unreasonable. And despite how terrible she felt, she missed him.

"I'm not messing with your head!" Jason cried in defense. "You're the one letting emotion cloud your judgment. We've talked about this."

"I'm thinking perfectly clear," she laughed, and then got off the elevator, walking towards the bedroom. She took her comm out, tossing it on the table. "Bruce! Get out here!" She barked. Bruce immediately opened the door, stepping out. He'd changed into a tight black tank top and gray sweatpants. Selina marched up to him and slapped him across the face, angry tears streaming over her cheeks. "If I have to spell it out for you-" she sniffed, and then bit down on her tongue- "When I said go away, I wanted you to stay. I want your goddamn help. I can't be left alone because as soon as I was by myself in that elevator, I wanted to-" she cut herself off, rubbing her wrist anxiously. "I hate you for leaving me there. I hate you- but I don't hate you." Selina looked down. "Never mind." He lifted her chin up.

"I wouldn't have left you there if..." He trailed off and studied her carefully. "Are you okay?"

"No." She pulled her face away from his hand. He watched her for a long moment, opening and closing his mouth.

"What can I do?"

"I want to say smile at me. I want to say for once in your life, tell me what you're thinking. But there's only one thing that I want more than that, and I'm trying to figure out how to say it and still sound like a lady," Selina sighed. She sounded playful, but he could still hear the masked sadness. She just wanted to feel better. The more she thought about how she'd acted, the more embarrassed, hurt, upset, and angry with herself she became.

"What do you want?" he asked quietly. Selina laughed, but had to rub her eyes when tears caught on her lashes.

"Just... Screw me until we fall asleep and can forget about all of this?" She looked up, her voice cracking. Bruce pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head as angry tears spilled over her cheeks.

"Are you sure you can forget about this? It seems like it's been bothering you for a while."

"Everything bothers me, but... I miss the days when I helped. When I held you together as much as you did me. I just want to forget," she whimpered, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in it.

"You do help." He pulled her hood off, running his hand through her hair. "I get to come home to you."

"I'm so sorry," she nuzzled his cheek, still sniffing her tears back a bit, but she seemed calmer.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

 _Then why do I feel so guilty?_

Selina's arms tightened around his neck and she lifted herself up on her toes as she stepped closer to him. Looking up, she gently took his comm out of his ear and called Jason.

"Thank you," she said quietly to him before putting the communicator down on the table.

"You're welcome," Jason said to the dead comm before looking around at the convoy. "All right, let's get this wrapped up," he called.

"You heard the big man!" Kate barked behind him, making him jump. She grinned. "Come on, let's keep going. I want to get back in time to take a nap." Jason nodded. They'd left a little before sunrise and had been lucky enough to find a stop close to the city. The supply runs had been forced to move further and further away from Gotham, causing the trips to take longer with more Infected sightings and attacks.

"Let's load up and keep moving inland," Jason told Kate.

"Alright people let's move! Everyone back on the trucks," she called to the officers. They were parked in a deserted Walmart parking lot, a few cars scattered around, left where they'd been abandoned. Kate glanced at Jason. "You ok? You seem out of it."

"It's..." He shook his head. "Do I seem like the kind of person you want to get relationship advice from?"

"Hey, I don't want advice," she held up her hands.

"Good. You'd be the only one." He scratched at the chin of his Red Hood helmet as he watched their group load up.

"Who did?" She asked conversationally, swinging herself up into the cab of the truck. He got into the passenger seat beside her.

"Selina. Bruce asked me to help Selina. And Dick."

"Ha! From you? Don't make me laugh," she started the truck, pressing her comm. "Everyone loaded?"

"Exactly. I'm the last person you want advice from." He glanced back at the convoy behind them. "How do we stand?"

"We're good," an officer waved his hand.

"Aight, let's make like a cow," Kate grinned, pulling her truck forward.

"Wait. What?" Jason stared at her.

"Make like a cow," she glanced at him with a smile. "Mooooove out," Kate laughed. Jason burst into laughter.

"You just made my day," he told her.

"Good," she punched his arm, still smiling. "So what about you? How are the ladies?"

"Dead," he said drily. "Or a complete pain in my ass."

"I think you're thinking of dudes," she said confusedly, and then laughed again.

"No, I don't think either of us are thinking of dudes," he returned with a smirk.

"Who's a pain in your ass?" Kate smiled a little, turning off the highway towards a small town that they hadn't visited yet. Jason shook his head.

"No one in particular."

"Mmm, I'm not buying it," she muttered as the little town came into view.

"I don't need you to." He shrugged. "You're very bossy."

"Well technically I _am_ your boss," she shrugged as well, imitating him.

"Oh yeah, pull that card. You can't see it, but I rolled my eyes at you."

"Yeah, what's up with that? I don't see the need for secret identities anymore," she commented. She herself didn't wear a mask, her red hair braided over her shoulder. "I mean, we're living in _Wayne Tower._ Is everyone convinced he's dead, or are they all just that stupid? I mean, how obvious could it be that the guy running the town is… well, the same guy that always ran it," she chuckled.

"People don't want to think about it. They want to feel safe." He checked over the list to see what they still needed to find. "They've lost so many themselves, why would they question some random elite being dead?"

"That's a good point," she shrugged. "Let's get the shit and get out of here," she parked the truck near what looked like the only store in the entire town. The front windows were smashed out, and it already looked ransacked. Jason pressed his comm as he got out of the truck.

"Everyone split up and search the town. Look for any convenience stores or other viable options, but keep your comms open and be careful."

"Right. Careful," Kate smiled, shrugging her shotgun onto her shoulder. "Let's you and me scope out this place, kay?"

"Ladies first." He mock bowed.

"Then go right ahead, sweetheart," she laughed, but stepped over the threshold of the broken glass window.

"So how've you been?" Jason asked conversationally as he followed her in. "I think this is the most I've heard you talk in months."

"Mmm, weird right? Hard when I'm not an official part of the Batfamily," she joked, her feet crunching in the broken glass.

"Oh boo." He started checking the shelves. "You've got a bat on your chest, you're one of us. Actually, you might be more of a bat than me."

"Aw, you're so cute. It was a joke, Short Round," she glanced at him. "This place is clean. I mean-"

"-hands up, weapons down," someone said loudly. "I've got guns on you."

Somewhere in the town, gunfire echoed in a building. Kate glanced at Jason, slowly lowering herself and her gun to the ground.

"You too, big guy," another voice said.

"We're taking heavy fire in the Beta squad- what are our orders-"

Kate exhaled slowly through her nose.

"We're not here to hurt you."

"Weapons down, damn it! Or I'll cap your ass, you son of a bitch!" The voice barked. Jason obediently tossed his gun on the ground and put his hands on his head with a resigned sigh.

"Do not engage," he commed their group. "We're not here to hurt these people."

"That's right. Get on your knees. The both of you," the man said, finally coming out from behind the counter where he'd been hidden with his gun through the shelf. He looked messy and tired, but his eyes were sharp. "What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped, his gun still trained on Jason.

"I'd ask you the same question, but you're the one holding the gun." He shrugged as he got down on his knees. "We're gathering food to take back to the city," he finally answered.

"Not any of this food, friend," another said, clearly a twin, as he stepped out as well. Kate glanced at Jason.

"Okay, we'll move on to somewhere else," Jason said simply. "Do you mind not shooting any of my men out there? And maybe putting the gun down? No one is resisting."

"We don't know that," the first glanced at his brother. "We've come up against some hostile people. And you don't look like the type to be very friendly," the second man lowered his gun a bit.

"Daddy?" A timid voice came from the back room, and the first man glanced over his shoulder.

"Go back to the camp, June," he commanded, lowering his gun. "We'll be back when we send these people on their way." Jason looked back where the voice had come from.

"Where did you guys travel from?"

"We didn't travel from nowhere," the first man snapped. "We live here, we protect our town. Now get your guns and your men and get out."

Kate stood slowly and picked up her shotgun, putting it back over her shoulder. "C'mon, Jay," she said quietly and pressed her comm. "Everyone back to the trucks, it's time to go. This place is taken." Jason picked up his gun, reholstering it as he stood.

"And are all of you all right?" he asked. "Supply wise. After a year, you've got to be running low."

"We're fine," the second man assured him with a small smile. "There's a river just outside of town that we get water from, filter it out and such, and we hunt. Grow food, too." A little boy poked his head around the door to the back room.

"Okay," Jason nodded, "I'll let the people in charge know to leave this place alone."

"Thank you," the first man said. Kate had retreated to the truck already, and Jason could hear the engine start.

"You know where to find us if you ever need anything," he added before following Kate out the door. "Everyone alive and ready to go?" he asked as he climbed into the truck. There were various affirmations from the back, and Kate smirked at him.

"Call it in, tell the higher ups what's up," she sighed, starting the engine and pulling away from the building. "I'll never get a nap at this rate…"

"Sorry to ruin your plans." Jason switched his comm feed. "Hey Nightwing, stop slacking off."

"I'm actually kind of busy," he retorted, rolling his eyes.

"I seen you!" the old woman shouted again, pointing a bony finger at her neighbor. "I seen you taking food and bringing it home!"

"You're old and senile, you crazy old bag!" her neighbor cried, throwing his hands up.

"Robin, can you- deal with this," Nightwing sighed, stepping away as he pressed his comm again. "Alright, Red Hood, go."

"Just thought we'd dump the information on someone else's shoulders so we can get back in time for Kate to take her nap, but there's a small town here that people are still living in. I don't know how many, but our supply raids need to stay out of their territory."

"Alright, make sure to add it to the list when you get back," Dick pinched the bridge of his nose as the old woman began shouting at Robin behind him. "Hope you're having more fun than I am."

"Definitely. I got held at gunpoint; my day is made," he replied sarcastically.

"Well that's what you get for going in without consent," Dick smirked.

"Ha," Jason laughed. "You may have consent but at the same time, it's forbidden." Dick groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Get back to work, Red Hood," he muttered, and then walked back towards the old woman.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but this is a dispute for the police, and if they so choose, _they_ can take it higher. An officer will be here shortly," he grabbed Robin's arm and they made a hasty retreat. Dick pressed his comm to call it in.

"Dispatch; we have a domestic dispute going on on Hughes Street, if you'd send someone to settle it?"

"Sure, Nightwing. What was it this time?"

"Just an elderly woman making accusations. The man was telling the truth, there's not much ground in it. We only need someone to calm her down."

"I'll send a couple of officers," she answered. "And I _do_ have something for you, if you'd like- There are some new refugees up here in Midtown, if you want to come check them out. A family with two kids; the mom is sick, so they're all in quarantine until you guys OK them."

"Yeah, I'll…" Nightwing sighed, and then grinned at Robin. Robin shook his head angrily. "I'll send Robin," he replied, switching his comm back to the Batfamily feed.

"No." Robin glared at him.

"Well I'm in charge of you and those are your orders," Nightwing shrugged.

"I would be much better equipped to continue patrol while you go," he argued.

"Oh really? Well dad left me in charge, so scoot," he grinned.

"But if I recall, you seem to enjoy abandoning your patrol post," Robin countered, smirking.

"Be judgy all you want, but you're not gonna guilt trip me," Nightwing raised an eyebrow. "Someday you'll find some girl to skip patrols for, too."

"Doubtful," he said drily. "Don't think I'll forget this," he warned, walking away.

"Or guy, whatever you're into!" Dick called after him. "I'm not judging!"

Damian silently fumed, but he continued walking with Titus trotting by his side.

When he reached their motorcycles, Damian climbed onto his and ushered Titus into the sidecar. The dog wagged his tail, situating himself in the seat. When Robin had asked Batman for the motorcycle, his brothers had laughed at him. They called it slow and outdated; he called it efficient and old-fashioned. Vintage. Bruce had owned the motorcycle when Dick was just eleven, and Damian still smiled at the idea of Dick riding in the sidecar. Damian had fixed up the bike himself, making it more energy efficient and more accessible for Titus.

He crossed the bridge into Midtown, and then continued on towards the only bridge out of the city. Word had spread that Gotham was a safe haven, and people flocked from miles around. Before they could enter the city, however, they had to spend a day or two in a secure facility just outside of it; if they were Infected and came in, it could destroy the entire system. Damian pulled his motorcycle to a stop and Titus leapt out. Their feet crunched in the gravel and dirt as they walked towards the front doors, where heavily armed policemen stood.

"I've come to clear the new refugees," he told them, and they obediently opened the doors; he stepped inside and people turned to look. The large room was filled with cots, a few scattered families huddled in groups, whispering as he walked by. The Batfamily themselves had become legends, just like the city. They'd been called everything from honest men to angels; from heroes to gods. Either way, people treated them like royalty, with respect and admiration.

Damian pushed the door open to the small quarantine area in the back of the building- it was once just offices, but now held plenty of high-tech medical equipment, and a doctor met him at the door.

"And how are they?" Damian asked, glancing over his shoulder. A woman lay on one of the cots, her husband beside her.

"She'll be fine, she just has the flu. All the same, we don't want to bring that into the city, either," the doctor shrugged. Damian nodded thoughtfully. Beside the man stood a small boy, maybe ten years old, and his older sister. He walked forward towards the family, and the father stood.

"Hello, Sir, and welcome to Gotham," Damian shook his hand, and the man smiled.

"Well, we're glad to have made it here," he said quietly, glancing down at his wife, and then back up. "Thank you, Robin. I can't say how… incredible it is to meet ya." Damian mentally catalogued the southern accent. The family had presumably traveled a long distance, which wasn't uncommon for people coming to Gotham.

"Of course, Mr…?"

"Shan. Eric Shan. This is my wife, Lucy, and these are our children, Jane and Kirk," Eric put his hands on his children's shoulders, and they smiled. Kirk hid behind his sister shyly, but Damian's eyes were fixed on Jane. She looked to be about fifteen years old, with insanely curly black hair and dark coffee colored skin. Her brown eyes were so dark they seemed black, rimmed in deep brown lashes that gave her face a sleepy, uninterested appearance, and despite her dirty clothes and her dingy surroundings, she held her shoulders straight, her nose up a bit as she sized Damian up.

"Of course," Damian breathed, shaking off his shock. His stomach felt odd, and he stepped back a bit. "You'll have some paperwork to fill out, and then I can get you into the city as soon as we have a home set up for you," he nodded.

"And what about my mom?" Jane asked. She was clearly watching him, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"She can accompany you as soon as she gets a clean bill of health," he informed her, his brow furrowing. He was suddenly a bit worried about the fact that he hadn't showered in two days. "The rest of you can wait for her, or go ahead without her; she'll be escorted into the city by a policeman when she's recovered, if you choose the latter." She blinked slowly, cocking her head a bit as she looked at him before turning her back to her father.

"I'm staying with her," she told him.

"Jane," he sighed.

"I assure you, it's equally safe either way," Robin promised.

"Sweetie." Jane moved over by her mother. "Go with you father and brother. I'll be well in a jif." Her cheeks were colorless and her dark skin was clammy, but she smiled at her daughter.

"No," Jane said stubbornly. "Daddy can take Kirk, and we'll join them when you're better."

"Whichever you decide," Damian said quietly, fading back a bit. He walked back to the doctor. "Get them the paperwork, and get her well," he instructed, and the doctor nodded.

"All of the other families and assorted travelers have been cleared to head into the city." He glanced down at his list. "I'll let the bridge guards know how many are coming through."

"Good, I'll let the higher-ups know," Damian said, with a glance at Jane again.

"I didn't think you'd be the one to come out here. Actually, I don't know if I remember you ever being out here."

"Yes, I wasn't expecting to, either. But Nightwing was otherwise occupied, so here I am." He ran a hand through his hair. "Keep up the good work, doctor." As Robin walked away, he pressed his comm. "Damn you, Nightwing," he muttered.

"Ouch, language, Damian," Nightwing laughed. "I have another order for you."

Damian hesitated. "What is it?"

"Go join Blackbat in Arkham," he responded, and Robin groaned.

"Why!? And _don't_ say 'because I said so.'"

"Well that, and she's all alone. I have city patrol handled, go help her."

"She has officers to help her, and then you'd be alone on your patrol," Robin reminded him.

"It's city, I can manage. But I'm so happy to hear you're concerned for me," Dick laughed.

"I'm scheduled to be on city patrol. If you want to change that, you know you'll have to update my father."

"Why do you guys always say that like he's the scary overlord? Well he _is_ , but dang," he smiled. "I can do that."

"Selina's going to kill you," Damian taunted.

"Stop avoiding my orders and confirm," Dick warned.

"You just don't want to comm Batman." Damian smirked. "I'll confirm my orders once they've been approved from above."

"I'll get them approved, but don't forget, Damian; _I'm_ in charge when Batman isn't," he muttered, switching the feed. "Bruce?" There was a long pause.

"This had better be really, _really_ important," Selina warned over the comm.

"It's not, but it will take less than a minute," Dick promised, waiting for her to hand over the comm.

"Do you know all the things I could do in a minute?" she asked. "Besides, Bruce is a little tied up at the moment."

"Ok jeez… Fine. Ask him if it's alright if I send Damian to Uptown to help Cassandra. I'll be fine on my own."

"That's what this is about?" she demanded. "Sweetie, grow a pair because Bruce is using his." The line went dead.

"I _told_ you," Dick snapped when he switched the line back. "You're an ass, Robin. Now get to your post."

"Fine, let Blackbat know I'm on my way."

"Blackbat," he commed over. "Robin is on his way to you."

"Why?" she asked. She was perched on top of a building as she watched the bridge guard change.

"Because I said so."

"Awesome. Robin, I was about to make another round along the wall. Do you want to make a sweep of Uptown?" She stood up, looking around her.

"Sure," he sighed, coming to a stop at the bridge. She watched him for a moment before turning away and firing her grappling gun.

"Don't sound so excited."

"Well I'd like to do my job," he retorted, patting his leg for Titus to follow.

"But do you have to do it with that attitude? Or did something happen." Cass walked calmly down the street.

"Well obviously Richard felt the need to send me away here, so something must have," he sighed.

"Unlikely." She watched a cat digging in a trash can. "He prefers to put himself in more danger than have others potentially be. He'd be less worried about himself alone on patrol than me."

"Characteristic of him," Damian responded. "Northeast quadrant is clear."

"So far nothing along the wall."

"Careful that you don't run into Harley Quinn," he snorted, smirking. Cass paused.

"Why? I could easily win over her."

"Oh, so you _haven't_ heard the rumors. I'm not one for family gossip," he chuckled. "Though I did kind of start this one. Nightwing's been meeting her in secret for a while now. But you didn't hear it from me."

"So why would I watch out for her? If she likes Nightwing, I'm not her type."

"It was a joke," Damian assured her. "But if you do happen upon her, give her a punch from me," he sighed.

"She's with the Joker," Cass mused as she checked a camera along the wall. "How does that work out for Dick?"

"Oh it doesn't," he chuckled. Titus nosed his head under Damian's hand, and he stroked the dog's ears.

"Or you, right? You're on Arkham patrol with him. About annoyed with it yet?"

"Beyond so. I was incredibly angry at first. Threatening him, even... But… I want Nightwing to be happy," he admitted slowly. "It took me time to realize that. He's a major fucking _idiot_ and he's going to get himself killed, but if it makes him happy in this godforsaken world, then why not? She hasn't killed him yet. I want Richard and Drake and… and even Todd… you too, Blackbat. After… well after all of this, I just long to see happy endings, like Richard does." Damian said. It was as if he hadn't thought about it before, but as he spoke, the words registered with him as well. Cassandra didn't speak, just listening to him talk, and Damian looked out over the water to the mainland. From here, he could see the bridge connecting them to the rest of the world, and beyond that, their abandoned home on the cliffs. He sighed. "I just hope for happy endings."


	24. The One Where Selina Interrupts

"Spoiler how was the supply run?" Jason asked as he rode the elevator up in Wayne Tower.

"Peachy keen. Catwoman left for city patrol already, and Dick and I are overseeing the unloading then you're in charge."

"Awesome." The elevator opened on his floor. He knew he didn't have time for a quick shower, but he at least wanted to change clothes. He was running a couple days on the same outfit, and his break wasn't until tomorrow. "Remind me why I switched shifts with you?"

"Because of my mad persuasive skills," Steph answered.

"Or because you're annoying."

"Ugh, Jason, hurry up," Dick whined. Steph elbowed him.

"Chillax. I'm hurrying." He stripped his jacket and his shirt off.

"Did you just tell him to chillax?" Steph asked. "You're so not cool."

"Red Hood," Bruce interrupted their comm feed. "The Uptown bridge guard commed in. Poison Ivy's there." Jason froze with a new shirt pulled halfway on.

"What? But I'm heading out to supply run with Damian."

"Robin is heading out," Bruce corrected. "You're needed here. Who just got back from a raid?"

"I'm on Arkham!" Steph called quickly, "but Dick's just starting his break. He's free."

"God damn it Jason," Dick muttered. "I am _not_."

"This isn't my fault!" Jason defended as he pulled on a new pair of pants.

"Nightwing, are you still at the warehouse?" Bruce asked.

"Ugh, yeah," he answered.

"Stay there," he ordered. "Join the next scouting team and make a short trip until Red Hood is available."

"But… Ugh, Bruce…" Dick complained. "I had plans, y'know?"

"No, I don't know." Dick could hear the finality in his voice. "Bring the raid group back by around noon, and Red Hood should be free to take over his shift by then."

" _Fine_ ," he muttered. "If I die of sleep deprivation, it's your fault," Dick answered.

"Oh cry me a river," Jason muttered as he yanked his boots back on and stumbled out the door. "And Steph's the one who threw you under the bus."

"There was no way I was going to go," she defended.

"Yeah, and I was the one doing two supply shifts this week because of you," Jason muttered, hitting the elevator button.

"And I take full credit for that," she laughed. The elevator doors opened.

"Come on guys, you know the rules," Jason taunted as he got into the elevator, "Keep the comms clear." He switched his off and hit the button for the garage. It was quiet for the rest of the trip, but he was glad for it. He tried to convince himself he wasn't preparing, but as he pulled his bike to a stop by the bridge and nodded toward the bridge guards to let Ivy past, he knew preparing was the right word. They lowered their guns just a little, and she walked through them with her head up. "Let's go!" Jason called. "Before I grow roots." She shot him a withering glare before climbing on the back of the bike.

"Take me to one of the Downtown bridges," she told him. She looked over at the low morning sun.

"A bridge?" he asked as he revved the engine. "Gonna jump off? Isn't that a bit too much water even for you?"

"No but I'm thinking about seeing if you survive the fall," she muttered.

"You're thinking about me? I'm touched." He sped off toward Midtown.

"No I'm thinking about homicide," she corrected.

"They usually go hand in hand with me." He shrugged.

"What? No annoying pet names today?" she taunted.

"Why?" He grinned. "Did you miss them, Ginger?"

"No," she snapped.

"Well you seem to have missed me." He slowed the bike as the neared the edge of Midtown. "Why else would you keep coming back?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she scoffed. "We've already had this conversation."

"Right. The old 'Arkham's a bad place to be' excuse." He stopped the bike. "You'd think as a criminal you would've known that."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical coming from you?" she asked. She got off and brushed her shorts off.

"I'm just trying to get you to admit you like me." He shrugged, and she stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Come on. You know that's why you keep coming back. Besides, beautiful waterfront view, we watched the sunset together. You don't have to try so hard." He was trying as hard as he could not to laugh. She turned away from him and marched away.

"You're ridiculous," she fumed.

"Okay." He followed after her.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" she snapped.

"Just following the rules, Sugar Snap." He was trying not to let her know how amused he was by her offence. "So what are we doing today? A bridge is a kind of weird place to ask to go to."

"It wasn't about the bridge. I just needed a starting place to explore Gotham."

"So you are a spy!" Jason accused pointing at her. She stopped to stare at him before shaking her head and continuing on.

"I could say the same thing about Nightwing being in Uptown."

"Fair enough," Jason agreed. "Although your friend started it." He watched her walk for a minute, her hair swaying across her shoulders. "What does she even want out of that relationship?"

"What does he?" she countered.

"Probably a broken heart," Jason mused.

"I've told her to stay away from him," Ivy muttered. Jason practically jumped when his comm beeped.

"What's up?" he answered.

"Is Poison Ivy still with you?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "I know better than to not update."

Bruce sighed. "Selina wants to see her."

"Is that a good idea?" he asked. Ivy kept walking, so he was forced to keep up.

"No, but that's not my choice. Just tell me where you're at."

"Okay." Jason shrugged and relayed the street they were on.

"Just call in an airstrike on me?" Ivy taunted.

"Can you imagine how much effort that would be? God no. I'll just kill you with my roguish charm."

"A slow and painful death," she muttered, and Jason laughed. "Why?" She stopped and shook her head. "Why the playful banter?"

"It passes the time."

"That's not a real answer." She stepped toward him.

 _No it's not_ , Jason agreed. "Part of the Gotham tour package."

"Still not an answer," she sang, stepping closer.

"And what about you then?"

"Seducing is what I do," she laughed. "What makes you think you'd be spared?"

"My clear lack of interest?" he offered.

"What clear lack of interest?" she asked, smirking at him.

 _You've got me there_ , he admitted.

"I can't see your face, but I'm willing to admit you're blushing. What's with the mask, hero?" she taunted, her face in front of his.

"Do the words 'secret identity' mean nothing to you?" he asked.

"Jason!"

"Really, Selina?" he complained, turning to see Catwoman coming toward them.

"Oh please like she isn't going to find out eventually anyway-" Selina sped past him and threw her arms around Ivy, her leather catsuit protecting her from her poison touch. She squeezed her tight. "Oh I've missed you so much I could kiss you," she giggled.

"Selina?" Ivy stepped back and stared at her in numb shock. "I thought you were dead."

"I can't say the same for you," she said confusedly. "I just thought you didn't want to see me, so that's a relief. Since I'm a traitor and all," she giggled. "But I guess that's handled," she elbowed Jason with a grin at Ivy. "If you're gonna defect with me."

"But..." Ivy glanced between her and Jason. "The Joker told Harley he killed you because you were a traitor."

"Ugh!" Selina threw her hands up in the air. "I can't believe him. How come Dick hasn't brought her home yet? Oops-" she covered her mouth. "Whatever. Ivy you're taking care of her, right?"

"Trying to but when does she listen to anything when it comes to him?" Ivy rolled her eyes. Jason stood awkwardly to the side of their reunion.

"Ugh. But then again, they're the same way," Selina smacked Jason's head. She smiled, grabbing his arm. "So? How are you guys? Good? Great?" She smiled, punching him in the side.

"Annoying." Ivy glared at him.

"Selina what the hell," Jason muttered, rubbing where she'd punched him. She was bouncing in place, and completely ignored him.

"Obviously she's madly in love with me," Jason joked.

"Oh I see," Selina smiled, walking over towards Ivy. She giggled. "Dick and Harley were easy but you two. You two are going to be difficult," she laughed, walking past Ivy. She quickly kicked her knees out from under her and Ivy, shocked, fell against Jason's chest. Selina chuckled. Jason carefully righted her and glared at Selina.

"Knock it off, Selina."

"What?" She feigned innocence, looking up. "God, it's hot out here," she sighed. "You two are cute, seriously. Couple'a redheads." Another giggle escaped her lips and she draped an arm over Ivy's shoulders. "Except Jason's got black hair. Or… brunette, almost. Blue eyes. One of those twice-broken noses that's still nice looking, and he has this really _cute_ scruffle-"

"-Thank you Selina," Jason cut her off.

"See I knew he had stubble," Ivy laughed, enjoying his discomfort.

"Bats won't grow a beard. Which, of course, _I'm_ ok with, but you know. Now Jay is a little bit aggressive, too, just a warning," Selina raised an eyebrow as she and Ivy stared at him, smiling. He felt exposed. He stared up at the sky as he shook his head, and Ivy laughed.

"I'm really enjoying this." She grinned.

"Well why hasn't he taken his helmet off yet?" Selina smiled, and then stuck her lip out. "Why not, Jaybird?" she laughed, and then glanced at Ivy. "I think this whole identity thing is pointless now," she shrugged.

"It's because your husband doesn't trust her. I'm just following orders." Jason nudged her away.

"Husband?" Ivy demanded. "You got married?"

"Yeah!" Selina squealed. "Oh my gosh, yes-" Selina bit her glove and pulled it off, showing her the diamond ring- "Br- Batman got me a ring and everything it was so _cute_ \- he stole it from a jewelry store…" She sighed happily, thinking about the bliss of her wedding day. "But there was barely a bouquet you would have been appalled. You could make me one now and I could toss it too you," she giggled, draping her whip around Ivy's neck and smiling. She suddenly pulled her forward and ducked so that Ivy landed against Jason again, and Selina ducked around him, wrapping the whip around them both in a tangle. Her laugh echoed against the buildings.

"Do not make me cut this whip," Jason warned, and Ivy glared at her, happy she couldn't blush as she braced her hands against his chest.

"Oh, it got tangled," she sighed with a smile. "Let me just…" Selina tried to pull it away, accidentally tightening it so that they were face to face. She covered her mouth with a hand to smother a giggle. "Sorry, sorry I'm acting so _crazy_ I just have been cooped up for so long and I've missed- I dunno, interacting with people," she giggled. Jason turned his face to the side and glared at her.

"This isn't funny," he told her. He was holding Ivy away from him by her shoulders. Ivy felt a flash of resentment at his disinterest. She stopped pushing him away from her, and their bodies mashed together.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "I thought this was part of the Gotham tour?" She couldn't see his face, but this close to him, she could feel what he was thinking. She smirked triumphantly.

"Almost got it-" Selina grinned. "Jason I swear if you cut it, I'll lynch you with it," she muttered, almost finished untangling them. He hated how much his body was reacting to being this close to her- he could smell her, see the light reflecting through her flyaway hairs, feel the curves of her body pressed against his- but it was worse that she knew how it affected him. As soon as they were free, he stepped back, taking a deep breath.

"Oh look," Ivy teased, "we found a way to shut him up."

"Oh honey, you have _no_ idea how hard that is to find," Selina smirked, and then glanced at her. "I really have missed you," she giggled.

"And I'm glad you're not dead," Ivy assured her. She glanced over at Jason, but couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his mask. She bit her lip in frustration. "And I'm sure Harls will freak when I tell her."

"Good. Let's get her away from the clown once and for all," Selina muttered. Ivy nodded in agreement.

"So how's life on the side of the righteous?" she asked, glancing around. "Turning into a fat cat?"

Selina pulled her catsuit away from her chest and glanced down. "Nope," she shrugged with a smile. "Not overfed _or_ impregnated, unfortunately," she sighed.

"Whoa," Jason interrupted. "Impregnated? What?"

"Oh please," Selina shook her head, and then smiled slyly at him. "As much as I'd love a kid of my own, a _grandkid_ wouldn't be so bad either," she grinned.

"And now you want me to have kids with a woman I barely know who wants to kill me, if only a little bit." Ivy shrugged like she couldn't argue.

"Besides, you know I can't have kids," Ivy reminded her.

"And that's the only problem you find with that suggestion?" Jason smirked.

"Shut up moron," she muttered.

"Pity, looks like it's up to Dick and Harley now," Selina whined. "Anyway. I should leave you two alone," she grinned.

"And why should you do that?" Jason asked her, amused by her antics.

"No reason," she shrugged, walking away as she smiled.

"Sorry," Jason chuckled, "she tends to be very impulsive since the accident."

"What accident?" Ivy asked; she'd noticed Selina's altered behavior.

Jason frowned. "She was bitten. We managed to do a full blood transfusion as soon as we could, but it still altered her. Don't annoy her though," he let out a short laugh, "that's when she's the most zombie like."

"Oh." Ivy looked at the spot Selina had vanished. So she _had_ almost died. The Infection had almost destroyed her too, like Caty. She glanced up at the sky. She wondered how the little girl's strawberries were doing now that she was gone. "I think I should leave." Jason nodded and turned his comm on.

"Let the raiding party know to start heading back in," he updated before leading her back to the bike. "And here I thought you wanted to explore the city."

"If you've seen one part, you've seen every part," she laughed. Jason nodded. "How many people are dying from the Infection here?" she finally asked.

"Not too many," he answered truthfully. "We have a quarantine that in coming travelers have to pass through before being allowed in the city. The main problem we face is if people get sick, or accidents." They reached the bike, and he got on. Ivy hesitated before climbing on behind him. She was quiet the whole ride, her chin resting on his shoulder, and he didn't interrupt her thoughts. When they reached the bridge, Jason turned the bike off as the guards scrambled around to get at attention. Ivy got off the bike, took a step away, and turned back.

"Here." She held out her hand. Jason held his hands out in confusion, and she dumped a pile of small seeds into his hand. "They're strawberry seeds," she said curtly before turning and walking away.

* * *

"You owe me _big time._ For that, Jason. Big. Time," Dick snapped into his comm, slamming his bedroom door closed behind him as he nearly tripped trying to yank his boots off.

"Oh come on," Jason whined, "it was Bruce's call. And it's not my fault Steph wouldn't switch shifts with you."

"Well now I'm going to be late-" he yanked his shirt off as he walked into the bathroom and turned the shower on.

"For what?" Jason watched the preparations for another supply run. "Got a hot date?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," he hastily scrubbed shampoo into his hair. "How was _your_ girlfriend?" Dick asked, smirking a bit.

"That's completely- Wait. Is that running water? Are you talking to me in the shower?"

"Does that turn you on?" he laughed, turning the water off and getting out. Dick rubbed his hair with the towel and dried his face.

"The only desire I have is to smack you," Jason told him.

"Jay I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff," Dick gasped, laughing. "So how was Ivy?" he went on, running his hands through his hair. He examined himself in the mirror, muscular body riddled with scars, his dark hair falling in loose, damp waves to his shoulders. Dick bit his lip and sighed.

"You're checking yourself out aren't you?"

"Man- shut up," he chuckled. "You're just avoiding the question. Typical Jason."

"Says the guy deliberately keeping the conversation away from what he's doing," he countered.

"I'm checking myself out, you just said."

"Because you're going to go see a certain murderous psychopath?"

"What's it to you?" Dick muttered, walking out of the bathroom. He hastily got dressed again.

"Not much, except for the murderous psychopath part. Other than that and maybe the even crazier boyfriend I see no problem."

"Oh yeah? Batman could've taken Ivy around, so why do you still do it?" he retorted, pulling his hair back into a ponytail as he walked out the door and pressed the button to wait for the elevator.

"He was a little… preoccupied last time, and this time…" Jason shrugged as he looked over the supply list. "I just follow his orders."

"Whatever." Dick shook his head. He slipped his mask on as the elevator doors opened and he walked out into the garage, getting on his bike. "And technically it's my break, so I'm allowed to turn my comm off," he grinned. "Bye Jason."

"Have fun, Senior."

Dick rode all the way to Uptown, feeling giddy about seeing Harley again. Though he was worried that she might have given up on him, he looked up; it was afternoon, and he didn't know how long she would wait. Dick left his bike by the bridge and took the rooftops all the way to he and Harley's makeshift apartment in the hotel, and he grappled up.

"Harley?" Dick called, ditching his jacket. It was quite hot out, anyway.

"Uh huh?" she called from the bedroom. When he looked in, she was laying across the bed on her stomach with her feet up in the air as she read an old _Entertainment Weekly_.

"Hi," he grinned. "Wow."

"Hiya," She looked up at him and beamed. "Don't ya know better than ta keep a lady waiting?" Dick bit his lip and laughed, taking a running start and jumping onto the bed beside her. He landed with a flump in the blankets and rolled onto his side, situating himself closer to her.

"What are you reading?" he grinned.

"None 'a your business," she told him and stuck her tongue out.

"Come on! It can't be that bad," he laughed. "Gawking over actors hotter than me?"

"Yup. Swooning over guys I wish were here." She grinned.

"Well. You have my permission to call me any name you like," he laughed. "I hope I can substitute and live up to the impossible standards of your dream guy." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're tryin' ta get me ta say you live up to them and you're the one I want, aren't ya? Well it's not gonna work." Harley grabbed the magazine and rolled onto her back as she opened it. "What page was the shirtless picture of Tom Hardy on?" She flipped through it.

"Tom Hardy… wasn't he in that boxing movie?" Dick mused. "I have boxed before." Harley turned and looked at him.

"Aw, you're so cute," she teased before looking back at the magazine.

"What if I took my shirt off?" He laughed, rolling onto his back beside her, his head hanging over the edge of the bed. Dick frowned.

"And then what? Ya want me ta take my shirt off so we can box?" She smirked.

"Oh, I couldn't hit you," he snorted. "Um… why is there a liquor store in the corner of the room?" he asked, turning his head. "And how did it get there?"

"Because I put it there." Harley glanced over at the pile of bottles. "When I was waiting for you to show up, I decided to move my stash here, since ya know, it's more protected."

"And… why do you have a stash?" he laughed.

She looked at him and grinned. "It's the most sought after commodity in all of Uptown. Do you have any idea what you can get for a bottle 'a liquor? That's how I got my revolver. Exchanged it for a bottle of Jack Daniels. Of course Mistah J killed the guy who gave it to me because he was hiding a weapon, but that's not the point."

"Of course. Why not?" Dick muttered, hesitating. "I could go for a drink."

"What are you gonna trade me for it?" she taunted.

"What kind of guy do you take me for?" he gasped dramatically, still smiling as he looked at her over the top of her magazine; she put it down.

"You can't get something for nothing." She smirked. "You hafta have something you can exchange for a drink."

"I have… um… money," he suggested thoughtfully, trying not to smile. He wasn't very good at it.

"And what am I gonna spend money on in Arkham?" She raised her eyebrow as she pursed her lips to try and keep a straight face.

"More booze?" he said lamely.

"Ha ha." She sat up a little. "The only thing a dollar is good for anymore is kindling and you know it. Looks like you're staying sober." She laid back down.

"Maybe I _could_ pay a different way," he half joked, leaning closer to her. Dick's gloved hand came up and caught under her chin, making her look at him gently as he smiled. His eyes were hidden behind his mask. His lip catching between his teeth. Dick exhaled softly.

"Oh please," Harley laughed. "Why would I pay you for something I'm already gonna get?"

"Well I could just go to sleep. I haven't had proper rest in a few days, you know," he smirked, leaning away from her. The air had been warmer where he'd been, close enough for her to feel his heat, and now it was gone. Dick sat up. "I might have to, now." Harley watched him with an amused smile. She leaned up, her lips grazing his.

"I like how you think you can play this game better than me," she whispered before getting up. She walked over the the pile and pulled out a bottle of wine. "I think I'll take a shower then if you're going to sleep." She shrugged her jacket off. "Do you think this place has hot water?" She smirked as she headed over to the bathroom door. "Or will I need to find another way to keep warm?"

"I don't know, why don't you test that hot water theory?" he laughed. "If it's cold I'll come keep you warm." Dick stood, kicking his boots off and dropping his gloves on the nightstand before removing his shirt and falling back onto the bed. He sighed as he settled into the comforter.

"Don't be sneaking any of my alcohol!" she called, and he heard the water start running. Dick took his mask off and turned his head, smiling as he watched her reflection in the shower on the mirrored wall along the opposite side of the bathroom. One panel of the glass was still broken from when Harley had thrown him against it. Laying on his stomach, Dick closed his eyes and tucked his arms underneath the pillow. It smelled like her.

When Harley got out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and wandered back into the bedroom. She saw Dick with his eyes closed and smiled. She went into the kitchen to find a bottle opener to open her wine. After a bit of searching, she found one, and pried the cork out. She carried the bottle back into the bedroom and sat on the bed.

"So are you sleeping or what?" Dick's breathing was shallow and even, his muscular back rising and falling with the action. He'd clearly dozed off, and he snored quietly into the pillow. His face seemed almost naked without the mask. Exposed. He looked incredibly calm. Harley rolled her eyes and took a swig from the bottle of wine as she got up again. She went over to the balcony door and opened it to get a slight breeze. It felt good on her still damp skin as she looked out at the water.

"Harley?" Dick mumbled quietly, but didn't move from the bed, still asleep. His muscles tightened a bit and he relaxed again, and when she looked over her shoulder she could see him tossing a bit as he slept. Harley stared at him. She walked over to the bed and put the wine on the end table, leaning over to smooth his hair.

"Don't do it you big idiot," she warned in a whisper.

His brow furrowed and he seemed to calm at her touch, but he still looked troubled. His breathing spiked and he suddenly jerked awake, catching her hand by his head as he took a deep, shuddering breath, looking up at her confusedly. "Harley? I fell asleep, didn't I?"

"Nah, ya danced the salsa," she grinned. Dick laughed a bit, releasing her hand. He rubbed his face tiredly.

"Sorry. I see you broke into your stash yourself," he chuckled, glancing at the wine bottle on the nightstand. He took another shuddering breath, calming himself after his dreaming.

"Did I need your approval?" She grinned as she picked the wine bottle back up and took another drink.

"I don't think you _need_ anything from me," he pointed out. When she took the bottle away from her mouth his lips were immediately on hers, tasting the wine on her lips as he kissed her. Harley blinked in surprise. She gasped and leaned back.

"Jeepers. Where did that come from?"

Dick chuckled. "What can I say, you're intoxicating," he laughed, kissing her again, seeming to take the breath right out of her lungs as he did. Meeting every couple of days wasn't enough to get enough of this. Harley couldn't help pulling him closer. Dick moaned into her mouth and his fingers tangled in her damp hair as he kissed her hard. "You know if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you couldn't _beer_ the thought of not seeing me every few days." He bit her lip, grinning. "But it's not like it's time _wasted._ " Harley smiled and set the bottle on the table before hooking her leg around him to roll them over.

"Stop _wine_ -ing," she murmured, kissing along his neck as she pinned him down. "You're ruining my good _spirits_."

"Well I'd hate for you to sober up," Dick laughed, closing his eyes. His breathing came faster, her lips on his skin sending chills down his spine. She grinned, her hands running teasingly down his chest.

"I know. In that case, my only advice would be for you to _rum_." She kissed the corner of his mouth. "But until then, I'm living the high life."

"Sounds like you've got a pretty good _handle_ on things," Dick breathed, turning his head so that their lips met. Harley could feel him grinning into the kiss, one hand tangled in her hair at the back of her head.

"I don't know if that's true," she mused. She leaned back and smiled at him. "But I'll give it a _shot_." She kissed him hard. Her hands pulled at his belt, her legs on either side of his hips. Dick moaned, holding her face as he kissed her passionately. He was breathing hard, and still grinning like a fool against her lips as he kissed her again.

"I'll bet you're a lot nicer to wake up with than a hangover," he breathed, catching her bottom lip in his teeth before kissing her.

"I doubt that," Harley laughed. "I tend to leave a bad aftertaste." She kissed down his neck. "Shouldn't be accountable for my own decisions." She kissed along his chest. "Reckless." She smirked up at him as she kissed lower. "Poor judgement." She kissed along the top of his belt. "That sort of thing." Dick bit down on his lip as he laughed. His muscles were tense and he longed for her kiss on his lips again, his breathing fast and ragged.

"I'd say it's too late; I'm already drunk on you," he moaned the words, his abs tightening under her kiss. "There's no way I'm getting out of this scotch free, and when I see a girl I like, I _chaser_. I can't let someone as good as you go that easily." He laughed at his own words.

"I'm feeling a little buzzed. Maybe I should blow a breathalyzer." She laid her head down on his abs as she giggled. She grinned up at him. "These jokes have been just a pint sized amount of fun. In fact, I couldn't imagine a _lager_ amount. But how long can ya keep this up?" She smirked.

"Get me drunk, and I can do this all night," he challenged, raising an eyebrow as he laughed. _Don't do it._

"See, I knew you just liked me for my goods." She grinned.

"Well if you've got 'em..." Dick laughed, reaching for the bottle of wine on the nightstand and taking a swig. It tasted bittersweet, and was better than anything he'd had in a year. "That is… really good," he breathed, taking another drink; he laughed and mopped his hand over the back of his mouth. _Don't get drunk._ Dick's other hand cupped Harley's face and he guided her up to his lips again, kissing her slowly. _If you get drunk, you'll get stupid. You'll end up telling her what she can't know_ , he thought as his lips moved against hers. She could taste the wine on his tongue and smell the sharp scent of his aftershave lingering on his face. She couldn't decide which was better, but it was nearly incapacitating, making her dizzy. "And I thought the wine tasted good," Dick breathed, licking her lips before biting the bottom one gently. Harley grabbed his face and kissed him before teasingly pulling her lips away.

"Who said you could have some 'a my wine?" She kissed him again before moving her lips just out of his reach.

"Nobody," he grinned. "I _took_ it. Like the bad guy," Dick bit his lip. "But a very polite bad guy, may I please have some more?" he smiled up at her, laughing.

"Of what?" she taunted.

"Of your sweet kiss, Juliet," he whispered, grinning broader. "If I have _tequila_ hundred men to get it, then I will," Dick laughed.

"Well, since you answered my quest- _gin_ , and to keep you a polite bad guy." She chuckled as she kissed him, her hands sliding into his hair. Dick wrapped his arms around her, her towel falling away and one of his hands sliding down her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck, the half empty bottle of wine clutched in her hand.


	25. The One Where They Get Wasted

Harley collapsed against Dick's chest as she giggled. Dick's gasping was periodically broken up by his own laughter; with Harley on top of him, he couldn't tell where her body ended and his began, both of them tangled in the mess of bedsheets. A thin layer of sweat glistened on Dick's neck, the smell of alcohol on his breath racing past his lips.

"I'm not quitting- until you do-" he panted, laughing again. His mask was askew over his eyes, his hair a knotted mess falling to his shoulders. "I can't let my arch-enemy win," he giggled, rolling over so that he was above her, pinning her down. Handcuffs were clasped around only one of her wrists, the other half hanging open against her arm, and Dick kissed her slowly. He started laughing against her lips.

"I'm not-" Harley paused to giggle, hiccuping slightly, "I'm not the one who-that stopped." She gave him a quick kiss, the open handcuff falling against his back as she grabbed his shoulder. "I could do this for hours," she slurred. Dick moaned, biting her neck as he growled playfully and his hands tangled in her hair.

"I haven't been this hammered since college," he talked against her neck, and then burst into laughter. "Get it? 'Hammered' like- you're Harley Quinn-" Dick giggled and bit her ear.

"I haven't been this h-ic-hammered in a while either." She snorted as she tried not to laugh, her legs tightening around Dick's hips to hold him against her. "And I'm not talkin' bout the liquor." She burst into a fit of laugher. "Get it? Hammered? As in the," she lowered her to a loud whisper, " _sex_." She giggled. "Good one jester."

"Good one," he complimented her, his hair falling over her eyes as he kissed her, still smiling and laughing quietly, his arms planted firmly on the mattress beside her head. Dick shook his head and pressed his hips into her, a hand grasping her leg. "You always think you're so funny," he laughed. "You were always funny."

She bit her lip, panting slightly. "I'm hilarious," she gasped. "And I'm also _so_ drunk..." She tilted her head back, her hands running up his shoulders and grasping at his neck. "But the funny is sorta my thing, ain't it?"

"Maybe on the villain side," he smirked. " _I'm_ the funny hero, and I don't like- competition-" He grinned, pushing into her with every word. She gasped, her hands clawing at his back. Dick took his mask off so that he could see her better, his eyes sleepy with intoxication and arousal as he kissed Harley's neck. Darkness had fallen not long ago. They still had an entire night to waste, and Dick sat up, knocking over empty bottles as he groped for the full one on the nightstand, bringing it up to his lips. The alcohol spilled onto his chest as he took a drink.

"So that's what this is? We're the funny competition?" Harley giggled. "Aside from-" She cut off, the smile sliding off her face. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble," she whispered.

"Trouble? That's backwards. I think I'm the one _in_ trouble," Dick laughed, leaning down to kiss her again. Harley giggled.

"Good one, hero."

"I know right," he beamed at her praise; the cutest, most carefree grin. Dick hummed quietly as his hands felt up her torso, his lips planting light kisses along her shoulder.

"You have the cutest little smile," she giggled. Her hands sifted through his hair as her eyes focused hazily on his face.

"S'it cuter than _his_?" Dick slurred, raising his eyebrows. He moved his hips against hers and groaned, biting her lip. "Am I better than him?" A giggle escaped his lips before he was kissing her again, his liquor-drenched lips making her head spin more than it already was.

"You know you can't ask those quest-gins," she mumbled. She was having difficulty breathing let alone thinking. It was sweltering hot, but she still wanted to be closer to him. Her mind was a jumble of bad ideas and no control.

"Fine, jus' let my ego be wounded," he said casually, pulling her hair away from her damp neck to kiss under her ear. He pulled her knee higher up around his waist, biting her ear gently. "Say it's me," he whispered seductively, his hips pushing into her with more force, and she let out a loud moan. She could feel him smiling.

"That's not fair," she pouted, her body tensing. She trembled slightly, her hands tightening in his hair. She didn't want him to stop. That was the last thing she ever wanted. But even through the drunken fog, she knew that was one question she should never answer. It was a question she didn't want to answer; she didn't want to know what would happen if she did. "Besis-besides. There are rules." She pulled his face up to kiss him before yanking it back to kiss along his neck. "What about Batgirl?" she mumbled against his skin. "Who's better?"

"You," Dick moaned into the dark air. She could tell he was too drunk to care. Or maybe... Could his answer be clearer than his thoughts at the moment? She couldn't read him. He smiled, gripping her hips tightly. "What do you have to say to _that_ , oh queen of hearts?" he grinned, giggling as he pressed his nose to hers. "You stole mine away and I never want it back."

This was a bad idea. All of it. It was just as stupid as the first time, and Harley couldn't process it in her drunkenness or didn't want to process it. She blinked her eyes to focus on his. She couldn't tell if he was swaying above her or if it was her.

"I say..." She leaned her forehead against his. At the moment there was only one thing she could process, only one thing she knew she wanted. "Fuck me." She pulled his face down to kiss him hard, her chest pressing against his as she wrapped her legs around his back. Dick returned her kiss, his hands grasping at her legs as he moaned against her lips.

 _I love you._ He laughed, screaming the thought in his head. "Harley, I-" she stopped his mouth with a kiss again before he could say the words. She kept his mouth busy against hers, her hands tightening almost painfully in his hair as she held herself against him. Dick groaned again, one arm sliding underneath her back as he pressed down against her, his hand sliding down her leg around his waist.

"So are you gonna hammer me?" she teased, biting his lip. "Or do I need ta take care of it myself?" She grinned up at him. She kissed along his chest, tasting the spilled liquor before giving him a slow kiss. "After all," she murmured against his lips, "it is my specialty." Dick smiled and laughed and kissed her passionately, his fingers digging in to her hips. His chest rose and fell fast with his breathing, matched in time with hers, as his hips bucked against hers.

He was caught in her desperate embrace. Every movement of her body under his hands drew him in, making him want her more. There was nothing that could have distracted him from this moment; Dick took in the hot scent of the heavy air between them, her pale skin slick against his, the pounding of their hearts in their chests against one another's, her kiss so addictive all he wanted was her tongue in his mouth, her lips on his; it couldn't have been better. It couldn't have felt more right. The alcohol clouded his thoughts so that all he wanted was her touch, all he knew was the cries of her pleasure filling the night that he'd occupied for years.

Dick lay tangled in Harley's legs now, his chin resting on her hips as he stared at her, one of her legs draped over his shoulder. She traced his spine with her toes and giggled. Sleep was weighing on him as he watched her face. She smiled down at him tiredly, her makeup smudged and smeared. Her head was propped up in the pillows, one of her hands playing with the messy dark hair hanging down beside his face. Dick closed his eyes. He was still drunk, he could feel it- his whole body felt hot and fevery, and his cheeks were flushed red, his eyes unfocused. His dark hair hung in tangled waves over Harley's hips.

He may have been more drunk than he'd ever been, but he wasn't stupid. He'd never gone down on someone quite like that, not even the previous times with her; he'd been careful to try not to leave any marks on her skin, but there were still bruises forming on her hips where he'd held on to her. He smiled as she rubbed the marks on his shoulder. There were scratches down his back and he'd wager on his neck as well, and Dick closed his eyes at her touch, lost in thought; he wasn't sure exactly what had happened at the beginning of the night, things were starting to get dark in his memory. He'd already gotten used to the room swimming around him.

"What are you thinkin' bout?" she whispered. Dick opened his eyes again and took a deep breath, his hands on either side of her waist, a thumb stroking her pale skin.

"The circus," he slurred, trying to remember why. Harley giggled. "I... I haven't felt this home since then. Um... I think, anyway." Dick lifted his head a bit and kissed just below her belly button. "I just wish that I could whisk you off to that place. Haly's was... A dream. Haly was synonymous with heaven. Heaven's circus," he hiccuped and then laughed, again resting his chin below her waist. Harley laughed. She brushed his hair behind his ear. Her other hand was handcuffed to the bedpost, but she didn't think her hands were nimble enough at the moment to pick the lock and the key wasn't on the night stand anymore. She yawned. Between the alcohol and the exhaustion, it didn't even register with her to care.

"So," she grinned, "if Haly is heaven, does that mean you're my guardian angel?" She giggled. Dick smiled a little, blinking sleepily.

"I guess so."

"Which is weird right?" She nodded before elaborating. "Cuz I'm a bad guy. Who kills people... and makes them dead... and kills 'em dead and laughs. I laugh a lot. Which makes me a bad guy. So why are you here? Cuz you're a good guy." She looked at Dick like he was an illusion.

"Well sometimes angels fall," Dick whispered sleepily, smiling a little. He watched her.

"Isn't the devil a fallen angel?" she asked curiously.

"Yes. But he fell because he resented humans. I fell because I'm in love with one," Dick mumbled, his eyes closed. Harley continued talking like she hadn't heard him.

"Cuz you see, all you heroes are the angels protecting your little city. Even Batgirl," she added and hiccuped. "But then there's us villains. And we do the bad things. I do bad things. Except when I'm with you," she amended and giggled. "I guess to keep off the streets and ways of crime just give me Dick." She giggled harder. He snorted and laughed, his eyes still closed as he smiled.

"So what you're saying is I'm doing my job correctly. Keeping you off the streets," he slurred, turning his head and resting it on her stomach. He could hear her breathing, and it was relaxing.

"And keeping me in the sheets," she laughed. "Ya know, for me supposed ta be getting intel from you, I sure got something else."

"An' here I thought I'd won you over with my charming good looks and increb- increg- really good wits," he mumbled, giggling. Harley laughed, blinking her eyes closed as she smooshed her head more comfortably into the pillow.

"But you weren't supposed ta win me over," she mumbled sleepily. Dick smiled to himself and lifted his head up to kiss her belly. He shifted against her, the movement sending a shock up her spine. Dick kissed up her stomach and over her chest to her lips, and when he kissed her, it was so deliberate and slow that her heart beat faster. His lips fell away from hers and he moved to the side, laying down beside her.

"I probably shouldn't sleep," he muttered, pulling her into his arms wrapped around her waist.

"An' I shouldn't be here," Harley sighed. She nudged her head onto his shoulder. "I'm not supposed to see you at all anymore, yet here I am." She yawned.

"Here we are," he sighed. It felt right, holding her like this.

"Here we are," she repeated, stretching a little before settling. "Handcuffs and all."

"Shit," Dick sat up in alarm, groping for his belt on the floor. He pulled his lockpick out and quickly undid the lock of the handcuff still holding one of her hands to the bed. He rubbed her wrist gently and kissed her fingers as he laid back down. "Better?"

"Yup," she sighed, tucking her arm against his chest. Her eyes remained closed. "Thanks Puddin," she mumbled.

Dick winced, biting his lip as a knot formed in his stomach.

"Get some sleep, Harley," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead as he closed his eyes. His cheeks burned in embarrassment, but he didn't say a word. She didn't even know she'd done it.

"Okay," she breathed, already drifting off with her head tucked against his chest.

Dick knew he shouldn't sleep, he might not be able to wake up; but he pressed his comm into his ear before he closed his eyes, slipping into unconsciousness.

It didn't feel like long before he could hear a voice. Not Harley's, not his own; but Jason's.

"Dick. _Dick._ Come on, you son of a-"

"-what?" Dick opened his eyes, the sunlight blinding him. He gasped. "Jay where are you?" he mumbled in confusion.

"I'm at the tower moron," Jason snapped over the comm. "It's shift change."

"Shift change? I don' work at the police anymore," he slurred groggily, stroking Harley's hair. "Jesus she's so cute…"

"Damn it Dick, Bruce is going to kill you," he warned. "And are you drunk?"

"Yes," Dick groaned. "I'll be back at the cave in a minute-" he slid out from under Harley clumsily, tripping over bottles as he tried to collect his clothes.

"Not the cave, Dick," Jason sighed. "Jesus."

"The tower..." He suddenly whined angrily. "I miss the Batcave," he whimpered. Dick glanced down at Harley and groaned. "Can't I jus' stay? I'm not hurting anyone," he slurred. "Oh... my head..." Dick sighed, pulling his boots on the wrong feet. After searching for his Nightwing shirt to no avail, he abandoned it and pulled his jacket on over his bare torso. Dick smiled down at Harley and leaned over to kiss her head. "Love you," he whispered quietly.

"Shit Dick. When Bruce is done yelling at you, I will," Jason told him. "Now get your ass back here."

"Mmkay," Dick shrugged, suddenly realizing that Harley was wearing his Nightwing shirt. The balcony doors were closed as well, she must have gotten cold and put it on before shutting the door. Dick put his mask on clumsily and stumbled to the door. "Well let me figure out how to get this working…" he muttered, grinning as he walked out onto the balcony with his escrima stick. He cast one last glance at Harley. He could hear Jason sigh over the comms.

"Did you drive to wherever you're at?"

"I only drove… to the bridge, but I honestly can't remember which way is _there_ ," Dick looked around after he landed on the ground again. The sun reflected on the glass buildings, hurting his eyes. He couldn't tell which way was North.

"I'll pick you up at the bridge, but don't make me come find you," he warned.

"Will you… play hot and cold with my tracker?" Dick giggled, heading in the direction he hoped was South. He wandered through the streets. "Jason. What if I become zombie food?"

"Just look at the street signs you dumbass."

"Come on, Jason, I-" he looked up. "Oh. I'm on an Avenue. Isn't that a weird word? _Avenue_ ," he laughed, then assumed a terrible British accent. "Ello sir, can I ' _ave a new_ hat?" Dick burst into laughter. "I'm almost to the bridge."

"Do _not_ try and drive yourself. I'm on my way."

"I'm stupid enough to screw the clown prince's girl and get drunk before my patrol, but I'm smarter than drinking and driving," Dick muttered, and a police officer on guard glanced at him in shock. Dick waved and leaned against his bike.

"I think you forgot the stupidest part," Jason said, and Dick could hear his bike in the distance.

"What's that, buckethead?" Dick quipped, crossing his arms. He didn't bother to zip his jacket, the sun warming his bare chest. Jason waited until he'd pulled to a stop in front of him, switching his comm off.

"You fell in love with her."

"Hopelessly," Dick grinned. "And I think she loves me. Maybe. Not really, but I can help her," he sighed. "She's an angel." He giggled like a teenage girl, stumbling and nearly falling onto Jason. "Wow, how am I still drunk…"

"Because you got really, _really_ drunk." Jason waited until he was situated on the back of the bike before taking off. "And I warned you not to get feelings for her."

"I've warned you about a lot of things, but did that stop you from pranking Bruce that one time? Or did that stop you from sleeping with Kori? Or wearing that _horrible_ costume-"

"-Dick," he cut across him. "I know I'm the one who suggested that you see her, and I even suspected that you'd... But you _actually_ falling for her is..." He sighed. "She's with the Joker, man. She's probably just toying with you. Don't cross that line."

" _You're_ probably just toying with… _yourself_ …" Dick retorted lamely. "Don't poke holes in my perfect dream, or I'll just jump off the bike."

"You have to face the truth that she's probably seeing you because the Joker told her to for some twisted reason," he persisted. Dick let go of Jason's jacket and shifted around on the back of the bike. Before Jason could ask him what he was doing, Dick stood up on the seat. "Sit down!" he yelled. Dick laughed and carefully sat down.

"Relax, if I can't keep my balance drunk on your bike, I don't deserve the mask."

"Relax," Jason mimicked back, "if you can't listen to the facts, you probably shouldn't be seeing the girl."

"Ok I'm gonna tell ya something," Dick knocked on Jason's helmet forcefully. "I know, mmkay? I know," he sighed as they stopped in the garage. Dick nearly fell on his face trying to get off. "I _know_. She's already told me that she's playing me for intel. Right after… Well I don't _remember_ what she told me. But it was… she told me that I'd won her over," he smiled dazedly at the memory. With Dick's chest exposed under his jacket, Jason could see his torso riddled with bite marks, hickies... and Harley's lipstick. It was on his ear as well, and smeared on his face. Dick grinned. "I don't care."

"Yeah? Say that again when you're throwing up." Jason shut his bike off. "And you again caused quite the scene at shift change, so are you going to comm the big man, or do you need me to?"

"I left my comm."

"You were talking to me on it five minutes ago," Jason reminded him. Dick narrowed his eyes and groaned.

"Hey Brucie, I'm hooome..." He said hesitantly into the comm. "If I'm gonna get a slap on the wrist we should get it over with so I can go do my job, right?"

"Are you at the tower?" Bruce demanded.

"He is," Jason answered for Dick, "and he's very drunk."

"He is _not_!" Steph chimed in since they were using the city patrol feed.

"I may be a little not," Dick laughed. "Wait what? Hey Steph."

"You're trashed," Steph giggled. "Hey, say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."

"Stephanie, this is not the time," Bruce scolded.

"Superkonandtimwereacouple," Dick snorted, before bursting into laughter.

"Come on," Jason said, shaking his head as he smiled. "Let's get you upstairs." He started to steer Dick toward the elevator.

"I gotta go out and protect the Blüdhaven. City needs me," he groaned, laughing.

"What happened to him?" Kate asked, joining into the comm feed.

"I got ma drank on," Dick sang. "Wow, my head hurts…"

"Good," Jason muttered.

"So Dick," Steph spoke up, "you do know I was on Arkham patrol last night, right?"

Dick leaned against the wall of the elevator, trying to process what she'd even said. He glanced at Jason and punched his shoulder. "Hey. Did you deflower Poison Ivy yet," he punched him again, grinning, his tongue caught between his teeth.

"Stop it." Jason smacked him.

"Jason wasn't the one I saw on my patrol screwing with the enemy," Steph taunted.

"Damn straight," Dick laughed, glancing at Jason. "Do you think that if you did Poison Ivy her lady parts would kill you? Like her poison kiss?" Jason smacked him again without saying anything.

"But seriously, _please_ close the window if you guys are going to scream that loud," Steph begged as Kate laughed. "Please."

"Hear that, Bruce? I make the Joker's girl scream so loud that Steph thought someone was getting attacked," Dick laughed, doubling over as he did. The elevator doors slid open in Bruce's penthouse. Bruce was waiting for them, glaring at Dick from behind his cowl.

"I'm out," Jason muttered, remaining in the elevator. The doors closed behind Dick and he pointed a finger gun at Bruce, clicking his tongue.

"What were you thinking?" he asked in a deadly quiet tone.

"Um, it's the end of times and I was on break?" Dick leaned against the wall.

"But you're not on break now, and you're in no way fit to be on patrol."

"Oops," he shrugged. "So punish me."

"And what do you think your punishment should be?" Bruce asked. "What's good enough to fit _this_ incident?"

"I don't _care,_ Bats. I don't care, I don't care, I don't care." He laughed. "Whatever you decide is the command, my Lord, but you've got it twisted, King Hamlet- we're the only ones you _don't_ scare." Bruce studied him before shaking his head.

"Jason, you're on break right?" he commed.

"My head just hit my pillow," Jason replied sleepily.

"You're covering Dick's Arkham shift."

"What!?" he cried. "Since when am I the responsible one?"

"Since Dick can't be responsible for himself." Bruce flicked his comm off, returning his attention to Dick. "You're not going on patrol in this state."

"Oh boo hoo I'm so disappointed," Dick mocked. "Whatever. Who cares, anyway?" He did feel remorse for Jason having to cover his shift.

"Glad to see you understand the ramifications of you actions," Bruce said drily.

"What's the point of this anymore!?" he snapped.

"What's the point of _what_?"

"This. It's been a _year._ The labs are nowhere close to a cure, and people are dying, Bruce. Face it, all we're doing is penning them in for when the zombies finally break in," he slurred, shaking his head. He frowned. "Damn I need a shower."

"Then you don't have to be here," Bruce snapped. "If you feel penned up, leave. No one is making you stay here and do anything. But I will do everything I can to protect this city and everyone who lives in it. And if that means running strict patrols, the people that are here to help need to understand that." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Go get showered and sobered up. I've been away from my patrol long enough."

"Fine," Dick muttered, punching the elevator button. Bruce watched him before turning away.

"And be careful."

"Yeah of course..." Dick bit his lip, pressing his comm as soon as he was in the elevator to change frequency. "Harley you up yet?" There was a long pause.

"What?" she said groggily. "Yeah, I'm here just make it stop beeping at me."

"Push the little button, beautiful. What are you wearing?" Dick snorted. Harley muttered to herself until she got it to stop and then fell back against the pillows.

"Um," she looked at herself, "I appear to be wearing your shirt. When did that happen?"

"I don't know. I just got back, got yelled at by Batman half drunk and shirtless. Hope your day goes better than mine," he chuckled, leaning against the wall. "I miss you."

"Is this comm supposed to be this loud?" She squinted and pulled a pillow over her face. "And is the sunlight supposed to be so bright? And," she groaned, "is my head supposed to feel like I hit myself with my own hammer?"

"Mmmm it wasn't your hammer," he bit his lip, smiling as he stumbled into his bedroom. Harley giggled a little before groaning again.

"Don't make me laugh," she complained. "It makes it worse."

"Sorry. As long as we can agree that I'm the funny one," he laughed, walking carefully to the bathroom and stripping his clothes off. He got into the shower and turned the water on, sighing as the hot water ran over his face.

"Never," she mumbled into the pillow. Dick laughed, leaning against the wall.

"Your loss. God that's good," he chuckled.

"You better be talking about me, Wonder Boy," Harley smirked.

"Of course," he laughed. "I mean the hot shower is good too."

"Don't taunt me. I know what good can come out of a shower." She giggled a little. She was starting to remember bits and pieces from last night. Dick laughed.

"Care to join me? You'd be a lot safer here than I'd be in Arkham," he smiled, wincing as he looked over his shoulder at the claw marks on his back. "You really did a number on me."

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I don't think I was in control enough for it to be my fault. I'm blaming it on the Jagermeister." She sat up and looked around. "Where even are my clothes?"

"I think I left something else there, too, I can't honestly remember much that happened last night- I mean, it was good," he laughed. "But that's all I'm getting."

"I don't see anything of yours but this place is trashed," Harley told him. She covered her eyes with her hands. "Oh yeah!" she cried. "My clothes are in the bathroom."

"That mystery solved," he chuckled.

"Just call me Sherlock Holmes," she joked, falling against the pillows. "Isn't this typically the day you're supposed to be in this part of town?"

"Typically, yeah. One of the reasons I am Batsy's number one little disappointment today. Funny, I think I'm infuriating him more than Red Hood lately," he laughed.

"Happy ta help." Harley grinned. "Shit!" She suddenly panicked, tossing the sheets aside as she hopped up. She stopped when the room started spinning. "If today's your patrol day, I'm not supposed to be in Uptown."

"Uh oh, someone's in trouble," he smiled, getting out of the shower to dry off.

"Don't taunt me," she complained. "I'm sweating pure alcohol." She stumbled over to the bathroom sink and splashed cool water onto her face. Dick laughed, glancing at himself in the mirror.

"Same," he groaned a bit, feeling nauseous.

"Who's idea was it to drink a whole liquor store?" she asked before drying her face.

"You ask like I might remember," he sighed, dropping into bed.

"I didn't take you up on your offer ta call ya any name I wanted, did I?" She started pulling her clothes back on.

 _Puddin._ Now that, he _did_ remember. "Nope. Don't think so," he mumbled.

"Good, cuz I didn't want to." She stumbled across the room as she pulled her boots on. "Now I just need to get back into Arkham without being seen. Any advice?"

"Well you weren't trained by the lord of darkness, so I've got nothing. Except…" Dick sighed. "Go in and interact with the people. _Don't_ go straight to the Joker. Then he'll know you were up to something. Make him come find you, then he won't be able to pinpoint any area you've been, he'll see it as just… 'around'. Like you lost track of time within the city walls… if that makes sense." He clearly sounded disturbed.

"Sweet. Alright, I can handle that." Harley nodded. "Maybe stop by Red's and get cleaned up. As long as I don't die tryin' ta use this grappling hook on the way outta here."

"Please don't," Dick laughed.

"Oh ye of little faith." She took extra precaution aiming and did trip a little on the landing. "You didn't see it, but I assure you, it was a ten." She giggled. Dick answered with a mumble, pulling the blankets over him.

"Good luck, Harley."

"Night," she whispered, giggling a little.

"Night," he smiled to himself. _Love you_ , he bit his lip, and Harley knew he was doing it.

"See ya soon." She took the comm out of her ear and put it back in her her pocket as she made her way back to Arkham.


	26. The One In The Gallery

Jason was leaning against the Arkham wall staring at the camera. He blinked his eyes tiredly.

"Cameras along the wall all still good," he commed Damian.

"Took you long enough to check," he retorted. "Did you fall asleep?"

"Just about." He pushed off the wall and started walking. "So how you been, Junior?"

"Well, Red Hood, I've been well," Damian mused, smiling a bit.

"If I did take a nap, you're pretty adept at Arkham patrol on your own by this point, right? You'd have it covered." Jason grinned. He walked down a dark street; Dick was going to owe him for having to miss his break. It was already full dark, and he didn't even think Dick was awake yet.

"Of course. I cover for Richard often enough. Why don't you take a nap at his safe house?" Damian suggested, listening behind himself.

"Are you going to be all arrogant about being in charge of a patrol if I do?"

"When am I ever?" he asked with a smirk.

"I think it's your natural state." Jason laughed before abruptly stopping. "Hey, you're still in the North quadrant right?"

"Yes? Why?"

"I think I'm being followed." Jason spun around, drawing his gun. Ivy gave him an amused grin at the gun leveled at her.

"You going to shoot me?"

"I might," he muttered. "So Robin," he commed, "you'll never guess."

"Poison Ivy," Robin said, looking down from the rooftop at them both. "Go on, I can't stop you."

"So what's up, Buttercup?" he asked her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I have a problem."

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"Do you ever stop talking for like two seconds?" she complained.

"Nope. It's one of my better qualities."

"And do you ever stop _flirting_?"

"Do you want me to?" he challenged.

"No," she groaned in frustration. "And that's what's so infuriating." Jason was once again glad for his Red Hood helmet when he was around her. The look on his face was some combination of shock, admiration, and giddiness at her admitting it. "And what about you?" She stepped closer to him. "Do you want me to stop?" She reached her hand out to touch his chest, and he caught it, reflexively stopping her advance.

"No," he admitted. "And that's my problem," he stepped back away from her, "so what's yours?" Ivy watched him.

"The Joker," she finally said. "He's… decided I'm a traitor for my trips into Gotham, and we both know what happened to Selina when he decided the same about her." If he'd tried to kill Selina, the only attack on her had been the accident on her supply run when she'd been bitten. If that was the case, then not only did the Joker have control of Arkham, but the capabilities to orchestrate an attack on the mainland.

"Okay," Jason sighed. He'd have to talk to Bruce. At least Selina'd be on his side. "Follow me." He headed back toward the Uptown bridge. "Robin," he commed, "you're on your own for a bit. Let Batsy know I'm on my way to see him. There's an issue."

"Yes sir," he answered. "Since I'm always covering for _everyone's_ asses… You _owe_ me a favor, Todd, don't forget it. Wake Nightwing up, too, and tell him to get his ass out here. _That_ can be his punishment." Robin switched comm lines. "Batman. Red Hood is headed across the bridge with Poison Ivy. We may have a situation." Jason switched comm his feeds too.

"Dick get up." No response. "Dick, wake up!"

* * *

Harley jerked awake as she heard shouting outside the bedroom doors.

"Shout at me all you want, I can't make any more progress without equipment!" Jonathan Crane's voice came through the solid wood.

"Fine! _Fine,_ " Joker snapped furiously. "We'll get them when we go into Midtown," he retorted. "Now, let's just focus on this objective and get it _done_ , shall we?"

The bedroom door bounced open against the wall. She glanced around the bedroom in confusion. Joker walked past her without a look, tearing drawers out of the dresser as he searched through them. His violet coat swept around his ankles like a cape, his green hair hanging in front of his face. He muttered quietly, chuckling through his words in a seemingly endless loop.

"Puddin?" she asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Joker ignored her.

"Crane, have you seen the wristwatch that I had?" he called as he walked casually back out of the room.

"It's on the desk in here," he called. Harley got up and went to the door.

"What's going on?" Crane glanced at her, and then at the Joker. He opened his mouth to respond, but the Joker cut him off.

"Did you hear what she says?" he asked, glancing at Crane. His eyes flashed as he looked over his shoulder at her. "She's concerned _now_. She wants to know _now_."

"What?" She took a step back. "I don't understand."

"Did you have a good night?" He sighed, smiling at her gently.

"I guess," Harley said slowly. She'd showered at Ivy's and brushed her teeth then brushed her teeth again after she'd thrown up. She felt reasonably well sobered except for the persisting headache.

"What are we doing? What are we planning? _What's. Going. On_?!" He laughed hysterically, advancing on Harley. He caught her face and looked at her. "If you were ever _here_ , you would _know_ ," he hissed, releasing her so roughly that she stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

"You never need me," she defended as she righted herself. "I just get in ya way, so ya kick me out."

"And _you_ never come back," he sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I'm back," she pouted. "Sometimes I might be a little late, but I always come back."

Joker's eyes flashed, and he caught her shirt, yanking it off of her and over her head as he laughed. She stumbled back, left in her bra and shorts and the bruises on her hips and marks on her torso were exposed as she tried to hide herself.

"You come back _defiled,_ " he said passively, a low laugh rising in his throat. Harley could see Crane over his shoulder, his jaw shut tight, his fists clenched at his sides. She crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"At least he wants me," she snapped.

Joker grit his teeth in a grin and stepped forward, slapping her across the face. "He doesn't _need_ you," he snapped, catching her by the throat.

"Joker," Crane warned, his voice cracking.

"He wants you _now._ But he'll cast you away. Eventually. And what do you think will happen? That he and the Bat will take you in, and everything will be peachy keen?" Joker laughed in her face, drawing her closer. "The Bat confined us. _Filth_ like you and me, thrown away in Arkham. Just because his brat takes an interest in you now- for his own satisfaction- did you think that he'd _ever_ lower himself to you? You're good for the night, but not the daytime. What happens next? He whisks you off on his white horse, you become a hero, his princess, and he your prince?!" Joker laughed again in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter does it?" she cried, her eyes watering. "It doesn't matter if he wants me in the end. I'm only supposed ta be there when it's _convenient_ ta want me, aren't I?" Her cheek stung, and she pried her neck free of his grasp, stumbling away gasping.

"See, that's where you're wrong, Harley," he growled. " _I_ need you. Not when it's convenient, but at all times. If you want to help, help me _work._ Don't _distract me._ There's a _difference._ You're my right hand woman. Who else knows more about me than you? You're _nothing_ to him. Nothing a blow up doll couldn't fix, anyway. He could have any woman he likes, and you think he'd choose _you_? Hell. Maybe he _has_! Maybe he's chosen you, and six other girls in Gotham! You every four days, and them every three!" Joker laughed.

"Joker stop it," Crane whispered. He ignored him.

"Do you _really_ think someone like _him_ , someone as-" he mocked her accent, still grinning- "drop-dead _gorgeous_ as _him_ is tied down to _one_ girl?" Joker threw his hands up. " _I'm_ the only one who cares about you. _I_ set you _free._ I want you _here_. I _need_ you here. And I'll be damned if a Bat who wastes your talents is going to take you away from me." Joker advanced on her, grabbing her face again and making her look at him. " _You'll_ be damned before I let that happen."

"You're hurting me," she gasped, her hands grabbing at his.

" _Good_. You've gone sane, and it's _so_ disappointing, my dear," he snapped angrily, pulling back and punching her in the face. He grabbed her by the arm when she stumbled, and he threw her into the wall. Harley cried out, trying to shield herself.

"Joker!" Crane cried, looking panicked.

"Maybe you _need_ some sense knocked back into you, Doll," he growled, drawing back to hit her again.

"Joker! Leave her _alone_!" Crane shouted, catching his arm. Joker released Harley to whirl around and punch Scarecrow in the nose, knocking him back. He turned on him and grabbed him by the collar, hitting him again and again, laughing as his glove came away bloodied. Scarecrow tried to fight back; he got a few punches in, but the Joker was relentless.

"Puddin!" Harley cried. She stumbled over and grabbed his elbow. "Stop! Please stop!"

"N-no-" Crane coughed, and the Joker pushed her away; Scarecrow scrambled towards the couch, pulling himself up on the arm. Joker glanced at Harley. He was particularly nasty tonight, in one of his moods.

"Poo, he got away," Joker frowned, turning on her. Crane looked on in horror, ready to jump in again if need be. His face was bloodied, and he watched Harley. Joker scrutinized her, waiting on an explanation. He'd split the skin open on her cheek, and she was bleeding.

"Why?" she asked, wiping a tear away. "All I've ever done is try to please you. Why do you push me away? Why do you need to hurt me?"

He blinked slowly, watching her. He looked down at his hands and smiled. "Why? Why, doctor? _Why_?" His voice was soft. "Why does anyone do anything?" Joker smiled a little broader and stepped closer to her, ignoring her wincing as he stroked her cheek. He looked at the blood on his fingers.

"Why?" she whispered.

"You give me an explanation, doctor, I have a certified document saying that I don't _know_ ," he laughed. "Why did Ivy, our only hope at self sustaining food, leave us? Abandon her people? Why didn't you stop her?!" He shouted, grabbing her wrist.

"Because you were gonna hurt her the way you tried ta hurt Selina. You were mad at her, and I wanted her safe." She stuck her chin out defiantly.

" _Traitor._ Traitorous little thing," he snapped. "You may have killed us all, now; I lost us Batman's charity once, shame on me, but you lost us our last hope. Second time's the charm. Shame on _you._ " He grinned horribly. "You're responsible for the death of your own people. Of _us_!" Joker shrieked, yanking her closer by her wrist and raising his hand to hit her again.

There was a sickening thunk suddenly, and the Joker crumpled at her feet to reveal Jonathan Crane behind him, wielding the lamp from the table. He panted hard, his eyes burning.

" _Stop it_!" he shouted down at the unconscious clown, and then dropped the lamp in shock. "Oh God. Did I kill him?!" Crane covered his mouth. Harley dropped down beside the Joker.

"He's breathing," she sighed in relief. "You hit him?!"

"Oh God- well what was I supposed to do?! He was gonna hit you again and I told him to stop-" Crane ran his hands through his matted black hair. "He's gonna make my entrails my _extrails,_ " he gasped, starting to pace.

"Then why did you hit him?" Harley cried. She checked the Joker over, gingerly feeling the back of his head. Her fingers had blood on them when she pulled them back.

"So he didn't hit _you_ again!" Crane shouted at her, spreading his arms.

"He would never-" she cut herself off, "seriously hurt me."

"He shouldn't. Hurt you. _At all._ " Crane said forcefully, wiping some of the blood out of his eyes behind his broken glasses.

"You don't get to decide what's good for me," she snapped. "I just..." She looked down at the Joker than back up at Crane hopelessly. He stared at her, and then sighed in resignation.

"Let's get him in bed," he walked towards her, lifting the Joker up with her help and carrying him into the bedroom. He put him in the bed, not being overly careful; he did still hate him. Harley returned from the bathroom with a new shirt on and medical supplies, and Jonathan cleaned and dressed the wound on the back of the Joker's head, leaving him and turning to Harley. He picked up a clean rag and started dabbing at the cut in her cheek to clean her up.

"What are we gonna do?" she whispered, her eyes wide and panicked.

"Hope he doesn't remember what happened?" Crane said quietly. The blood was drying on his nose, the right side of his face swelling up, his eye almost closed. His glasses were cracked even more now, and blood dripped over his brow into his eyes. Jonathan sighed, taping a bandage over Harley's cheek. He smoothed it down. "Ivy is safe?"

"I dunno." Harley admitted. "But thank's for tellin' me ta warn her. She's leavin' Uptown today."

"You're welcome," he said quietly, and then made her look at him. "Promise me you'll get out next."

"I can't." She glanced over at the Joker's motionless form. "I can't leave him."

"Try. Promise me you'll at least _try._ " Crane pleaded. Harley stared at him. This was what she knew, life with the Joker. She loved him. And that may be crazy, but so was she. Nothing made sense anymore. She looked down. Crane sighed. "Be here when he wakes up. It... This will be easier if you choose your side, Harley," he watched her. "Be careful."

"I'm sorry." she glanced up at him before staring down at the ground. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"You wanted someone to love you back." He sighed. "Whether or not he does, only you know, but..." Crane smiled a little, but he still looked sad. "You need to start making the distinctions by yourself. You're a smart woman, Harley Quinn. Always have been. Smarter than me, and smarter than _him._ " Crane watched her, pointing at the Joker. He was quiet for a long time. "Start thinking carefully." He sighed and turned to the door. Sometimes she remembered the life of Harleen Quinzel before the Joker had entered it. The Joker had been a part of her life long before she'd even met him, and the day she became Harley Quinn had been like a dream. It had been like an impossible dream where strange things happen but somehow make sense. Even knowing she wasn't dreaming, she couldn't wake up.

"Come on Doc," she said and smiled at him but it felt twisted. "You know I was never very good at that."

"No, I know you were always good at that," he chuckled. "You let go of your sanity. You chose _him._ How does the saying go? It's better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path? You stand next to Caesar, and you're in a position to destroy or liberate us all. And I think you _always_ knew that, somewhere deep down." Crane smiled sadly. "Which is why I'm going to let you know-" he let out a sigh- "Joker organized an attack- Deadshot, a few goons and zombies heading into Uptown to prowl the streets. I don't know why but…"

"Ivy," Harley breathed. Crane nodded.

"I think, yes," he said quietly.

"Okay," Harley started pacing, "okay, okay. But she should be out of Uptown by now right? _Right_?"

"You said it yourself, Harley. You don't know. _I_ don't know. But there's nobody else that he hates more at the moment," Crane said quietly. Harley stared at the Joker.

"I can't leave him."

"He'll be here when you get back," he assured her. "I hit him pretty hard… and if you don't go, he kills one of your only friends here."

"But what if he _does_ wake up. I should be here." Her argument was only half hearted.

"I'll hit him again," Scarecrow shrugged. "Look. If he wakes up and you're here, he'll hurt you. He can't hurt _me._ He still…" He looked down. "Still has use for me. If he wakes up, I'll placate him and you can come back when he's not… in a blind rage."

"But... If... Shouldn't I... Okay," she finally agreed, already feeling guilty about leaving him. "But I'm hurrying back." She stepped toward the door. "I'll just be gone long enough to make sure she's okay and warn her," she looked at the Joker again. "Okay?"

"Okay. It'll be fine, Harley," he smiled a little. "Hurry back." She bit the inside of her cheek before nodding and running off.

It was agony riding in the slow elevator, but as soon it touched down on the bottom floor, she bolted for the door and shoved it open. She sprinted through Arkham, not paying attention to anyone she passed, but paused when she reached the wall. She had no way of knowing where Ivy was. Chances were the bridge guards would let Ivy through but not her. If she'd gone to the bridge she would be out of Uptown, but if not...

Harley ran toward the middle of Uptown, looking for anyone. She could hear shouting echoing in the streets a few blocks away, and the quiet sounds of a silenced pistol firing. She ran until she burst through the doors of a crumbling studio building, once used for gallery art shows; the entire first floor was a large, white, empty space filled with half walls set up like some kind of maze reflected in the black tile floor. Abandoned minimalist paintings hung crooked and vandalized, and looming black iron statues guarded the corners of the room. She could hear voices somewhere in the black and white darkness.

"You've been meddling for too long. Bossman's not too happy. Did you think that you were clever, or sneaky? You think he didn't notice?" There was a groan as the voices paused, and it wasn't a zombie. It wasn't Ivy, and she recognized it.

Dick looked down, away from Deadshot, as the villain bent over in front of him.

The group had tracked Ivy and Red Hood to the bridge, too late to catch her, but Nightwing was crossing into Uptown to cover the patrol at the same time. The Joker would have taken either or, really; Ivy was a traitor, but Dick would be a prize the Joker would reward them handsomely for. They'd attacked with vicious precision. They'd chased him down until he couldn't run anymore. A localized EMP burst had taken out his comms, and though he'd fought, they'd overtaken him. Deadshot had cornered him in the gallery, and he'd fallen for it; Nightwing had run in in a last ditch effort to escape, and that's when they caught up with him.

"What do you have to say for yourself," Deadshot said, grabbing a fistful of Dick's dark hair, pulling his face up. Blood dripped from his nose and his lip, splatters of it across his face from God knows where. The three Infected on chains snarled and snapped at him from where two burly men held them back from the group, but they were losing energy, and patience. The chains slackened, and Dick jerked back in terror as the female Infected nearly clipped his face with her once-manicured claws. Deadshot yanked his hair, his teeth grit angrily as he stared down at Dick. "Well?"

"I don't have _anything_ to say," Dick snapped, spitting blood at Deadshot's face. The marksman laughed and straightened up, nodding at one of the two men holding Dick's arms behind his back. He kicked Dick in the stomach until he bent over coughing, and then planted a boot against Nightwing's head, forcing him to the ground.

"Do you? _Really_? Now I'm doing this job because I've been told, because _you've_ been ravaging the Joker's girl. You weren't the target, but you're Arkham's most wanted in the Joker's ring. You'll do just fine."

"'Ravaging?' Gross, man," Dick coughed.

Deadshot snorted and knelt down in front of him, and the goon let Dick sit up again; Deadshot pressed his gun against Dick's chin and looked at his mask. "I'll let you in on two little secrets- The first is that I've been ordered to end you, but I'm going to get as much pleasure out of it as I can. Take pride in my work, and all that, but also- you ain't the only one she's had relations with," Deadshot laughed. "You aren't special, and neither was I, and I guess that's just the luck of the draw. Joker's asked me to make ya smile before I shoot you, so if you could," he pressed the gun harder against Dick's chin. He glared back at Deadshot without a word.

There was an ear-splitting crack of a gunshot, and Deadshot suddenly cried out, dropping the gun as a bullet ripped through his hand. He clutched it with the other hand and looked around for the attacker in the dark.

"I'm sorry," Harley stepped forward, holding her gun up. "That was me. I probably shouldn'ta just shot ya first. I'm sorry. It's been a really long day," she dropped her hands to her sides and sighed. "Can we not do this?"

"Orders are orders, love, and you're not on the hit list, but I'm sure Joker'd understand," Deadshot sighed, clutching his hand. Dick stared at Harley, glancing down at his belt where it lay on the floor a few feet away. If he could just get his tranq gun…

Deadshot snatched up his pistol and rolled to the side, unholstering a second as he fired on Harley. A bullet caught her pigtail, whizzing just over her shoulder, and Deadshot ducked behind a wall as the two goons holding Dick's arms began shooting. Harley took cover and Dick covered his head; the zombies began frantically pulling at their chains in the gunfire.

"Floyd really?" Harley called. "I just talked to Joker," she held her gun up, checking it over, "everything's good." She glanced around the wall she was hiding behind.

"Sorry, love!" he called over the gunfire. Dick dove at his tranq gun while the goons were distracted, but the men holding the zombies let go. Two of them raced at Dick just as he reached his belt, and the third attacked one of the gunmen; he screamed as it tore into his flesh, overtaking him in seconds. Dick cried out as the female tackled him. He threw her off and grabbed an escrima stick, whirling around as the male leapt onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Dick caught it's neck with his escrima stick, holding it away from him, and he glanced at the woman. It had regained its balance and was tensing to strike again.

"Harley! Little help!" Dick shouted as she lunged, and he kicked her away. A bullet ripped through the female's forehead and she fell back, but Harley left him to deal with the male as she stepped out in front of Deadshot.

"You're not going to shoot me." One of the remaining gunman had taken care of the third zombie, and they looked to Deadshot for what to do. He stared at Harley.

"Believe me, I don't want to," he breathed, his face set in stone behind his pistol.

"I know." She smirked a little and flicked her pigtail. "You never miss."

Dick suddenly jackknifed to his feet and fired two tranqs at Deadshot, and then turned to take out the remaining goons before he stumbled to the side, the last zombie lying dead at his feet.

Deadshot fell to his knees, the tranquilizers already working, and he dropped to the floor in front of Harley. Dick leaned against the wall.

"Lucky I'm a pretty good shot too," he panted, groaning as he bent over to pick up his belt. He clipped it on and holstered his weapons. "Thanks."

"I thought Ivy was the one they were after," Harley admitted, scratching the bandage on her cheek.

"Oh. Then I'm less flattered you came. Still flattered, but less so," he flashed her a smile, and then winced and gingerly touched the cut on his lip. "Ow…"

"Is she okay?" she asked. "Sorry, priorities. Are you okay? Are ya gonna die?"

"Ivy is in Midtown. She's fine, she's with Red Hood," Dick sighed, rubbing his jaw. "And I'm fine, yeah. Just glad that you showed up, honestly," he chuckled.

"I like to make an entrance," she giggled.

"Clearly," Dick smiled, and then stumbled, groaning as he pressed his arm to his side. Blood had seeped through his jacket from the knife wound there. Harley lifted his shirt to look at it.

"I can try and patch you up," she offered, "but it's pretty deep. You should probably get stitches."

"Nah, just a graze. I would say don't worry about it, but that would only be if I knew I could make it back," Dick grimaced. "At this point its sixty-forty, probably not in my favor," he slid down the wall, digging in a pocket on his belt for antiseptic and bandages.

"It seems like the odds are never in your favor," Harley muttered as she sat cross legged beside him. She took the supplies from him. "Take your shirt off," she ordered as she prepared the bandaging.

"Not when it comes to you," Dick joked, pulling his jacket off gingerly and then peeling the top of his bloodsoaked Nightwing suit over his head. He couldn't stop himself from groaning in pain, but he smiled at her again. She glanced up at him.

"Stop smiling at me," she laughed. "You're injured." She carefully started cleaning the wound.

"Oh, it's not so bad," he laughed a little, watching her. His breathing was still uneven and he looked pale from blood loss, but seemed otherwise okay, despite the bruises and various wounds suffered at the hands of Deadshot and his goons.

"I'm looking at it so lying isn't gonna work," she told him as she tried to stop the bleeding. Her head was bent downward near his bare chest as she worked. It was familiar this close to each other. Dick closed his eyes behind his mask.

"I can try," he chuckled weakly.

"Uh huh, and that's most likely how you got into this situation." She glanced back behind her, suddenly worried about how long she'd been here and that she wasn't hurrying back before returning her attention to patching him up.

"Probably. You got somewhere to be?" He smiled at her, his head leaning against the wall. He sniffed as he wiped some blood away from his nose.

"And if I do?" she challenged as she made sure the bandage was tight.

"Hey, don't be so hostile. It was just a question," he smiled, watching her. "Didn't expect _you_ to give me the cold shoulder."

"I did almost get shot because of you," she defended with a small smile. She leaned back and admired her handiwork. "There. You should be able ta make it home."

"Thanks. And I'm sorry you had to come rescue a damsel in distress," Dick laughed, standing. He took her hand and helped her to her feet, wrapping his arm around her. "Thank you," he said again with a smile. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't mention it." Harley looked around at the downed gunmen. "Although I guess it doesn't really matter if you do."

"Yeah. You know, Ivy is safely in Midtown. You... you could come too," Dick said quietly. She didn't know if it was the blood loss or if he was still drunk or not, but he sounded off. She stared at him and shook her head.

"No I can't," she said. "I mean, what do ya expect ta happen? Batman just lets me into Gotham? Everyone trusts me? I'm suddenly not crazy? I just _leave_ the Joker?"

"Yes." Dick took his mask off, looking at her earnestly. Even with the blood drying on half of his face, he was breathtaking. He stroked her cheek.

"No." She grabbed his hand to stop it. "I'm not gonna run away with a guy I really don't know anything about."

"Well I want to run away with the girl that I can't stop thinking about. Four days is too long to wait," he smiled down at her. "Think about it. You can come with me, if you want. I don't... I don't want to make you do anything, but..." Dick bit his lip, watching her.

"But then ya'd know where to find me whenever ya wanted a quickie," she snapped, raising an eyebrow. The Joker's words were painful in her ears, but he'd been right. She couldn't help saying it.

"Harley- _what_? Where- where did _that_ come from?" Dick asked in shock, stepping back from her, his cheeks burning.

"That's all we ever do, isn't it?" she demanded. "It's all I'm good for apparently."

"No! Harley, why would you- that is _not_ all you're good for! That's what I've been trying to tell you- it's him- putting ideas in your head-"

"-No. It's me not knowing _anything_ about the life ya live everyday and just being the piece of ass ya get on the side whenever it's convenient for ya!" Her pale face was getting flushed from their argument.

"How can you _think_ that?!" Dick breathed incredulously. "You stand here in front of me bruised and hurt- did the Joker do that to you? Is this _him_ talking?" he said quietly.

"It's nothing." She turned her face away. "And don't change the subject."

"I'm _not_ changing the subject," he sighed. "It's all the same. I don't know where you're getting those crazy ideas, but they're not true." Dick knelt and picked up his shirt, wincing as he pulled it over his head.

"I wonder why I could possibly be having crazy ideas," she snapped sarcastically. "Ya know what? It doesn't even matter." She shook her head.

"How could you think that's what I think of you?!" Dick demanded, catching her arms with his hands. It wasn't hostile or threatening. It was desperate.

"What am I supposed ta think? That out of all the girls in Gotham, ya like me? The Joker's girlfriend?" She froze, her eyes going wide as she suddenly realized why Dick hung around her. Always asking about Arkham, making comments about the Joker, getting her to talk. "That's what this was about wasn't it?" She yanked her arms away. "It was about _him_."

"What? No, Harley, it wasn't like that!" Dick defended, but the he felt guilty. "I mean, at first, maybe- but that's not what this is anymore!" he cried, running his hands through his hair.

"'Not anymore?'" She laughed maniacally. "And why should I believe that?"

"Because I fell in love with you!" Dick shouted before wincing, his voice echoing in the white maze. It's volume seemed to shock even him. He immediately regretted it.

Harley stood frozen for a moment before she pushed his chest.

"Don't say that." She shoved him again, and his hand went to his side. "Ya don't get to say that."

Dick stared at her in shock, stepping back. "Why? I do." he paused, as if just truly realizing it himself. "I love you." He stuttered.

"Ya don't get to say you were using me and then that ya love me," she hissed, clenching her jaw. "You don't get to do that," she breathed.

"And you weren't using _me_?!" He cried and then shook his head. "That's not important. I didn't want to do it. Not at first. But then someone suggested, as long as I was with you, I may as well try and separate you and the Joker, take him down a few pegs..." Dick bit his lip, trying to stop the words coming out of his mouth. "I know it seems like I'm saying this now to accomplish that end, but the fact of the matter is; I fell in love with you weeks ago and all I've thought about was running away with you." He ran a hand over his mouth.

"That's not fair. I told ya why I was seein' you. I never lied," she defended, her voice cracking. "You went into this from the beginning with the intent to hurt me."

"Not _you_!"

"Why should I believe you?!" _Joker was right._ "You were just using me!" She blinked her eyes rapidly; she didn't want him to see her cry.

"I wasn't! The other night, the night before, and the night before that; there was nothing there but you and me. I did lie to you in the beginning, and I'm so sorry," Dick breathed, catching her hand. "But I do love you. And that's the absolute truth." Harley pulled her hand back, staring at him. She couldn't believe how much this hurt. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to hear this, and she didn't want to believe it.

"But it doesn't matter does it?" She stuck her chin out, trying not to let it quiver. "Because I was just using you too. So it was fun while it lasted." She turned and started walking away, not wanting to face him anymore. Dick wanted to keep silent. It was better for them both if they did this. If they left. His side was on fire, he'd already bled through the bandages and his shirt was soaked again. He couldn't do it.

"Harley, wait, please-" he begged. "We can still see each other, just talk- I don't want to lose you-"

"I have to get back to my Puddin," she said bluntly, not turning around. "Bye Wonder Boy."

Dick wordlessly closed his mouth, watching her go. He didn't want to believe that this was the last time he'd see her. Despite the exhausting depression weighing on him, Dick felt panic flare in his chest. His wound hadn't been properly sealed and his heart was racing from the argument, and he was losing a lot of blood. He made his way to the exit and stumbled out into the street. His comm was back online, and he pressed it.

"Nightwing to cave- I need help here-" he said as he kept walking, the bridge coming into view. "Batman. I'm sorry," he chuckled, and then fell forward onto the pavement, his feet slipping out from under him.


	27. The One With Everyone's Relationships

Dick groggily opened his eyes. Jason and Barbara were arguing by his head, and he looked around. The last place he'd expected to wake up in was the medical area, yet here he was.

"I'm surprised you didn't leave me in the street, Jay," Dick admitted as he sat up carefully. Barbara stopped him.

"Don't strain yourself," she warned.

"It was tempting," Jason assured him.

"I assumed as much."

"So," he sat on the edge of Dick's bed, "you wanna share any details about how you ended up bleeding in the street?"

"Joker sent Deadshot and some goons after Ivy. They caught me coming off the bridge as you went on. They attacked me, I escaped, I made it that far before passing out," Dick sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Any particular reason they were after you, or just pure malice?" Jason smirked.

"And it didn't look like you bandaged yourself," Barbara added.

"They were after me because of Harley, and Harley bandaged it," Dick said calmly.

"Uh huh," Jason nodded, "and that's how you wanna leave the story?"

"She broke it off. We're done. So you don't have to worry about _that_ anymore," Dick looked down at his hands. He pretended it didn't hurt. It was easier that way.

"So Deadshot nearly killed you on the Joker's orders for what we can only assume has to do with you being with Harley," Barbara said, "yet your little puppy dog eyes say that's not what you're sad about." She crossed her arms as she stared at him.

"I'm not sad. I'm fine Babs, really," he laughed.

"Were you always such a liar?" Jason taunted.

"I used to be able to get away with it more," he smiled a little.

"Or we just _let_ you get away with it more," Barbara offered.

"True," Dick chuckled. "So when's the big bad bat going to descend on me?"

"Probably pretty soon." Jason stretched. He was wearing his mask instead of his helmet. "At least he won't be yelling at me anymore."

"Yeah I'll probably be his favorite this week," Dick rubbed his head. "I'm sorry Jay."

"I think Damian'll be his favorite this week. He's the one who found you."

"My favorite, maybe," Dick smiled a little. Bruce strode into the room and glared at Dick.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Short version: Joker sent Deadshot and his goons to kill Ivy for being a traitor. Apparently I'm on the hit list as well because I was sleeping with Harley Quinn, but it's okay because she broke up with me, so..." Dick looked down. "So sorry I got stabbed, and sorry I've missed so many damn patrols," he sighed.

"So what, you getting stabbed is miraculously going to make you stop slacking off?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'll be up and moving in a few hours, and back to regular patrol schedule. I'll even volunteer my next three break days to Jason, and catch some sleep on the end of my supply shifts, sound fair?" Dick looked up at Bruce, his jaw set.

"I'm not going to drop it," he warned. "You were nearly killed."

"Yeah, surprise surprise," Dick sighed.

"What happened?" he demanded again.

"I told you! They ran me down until I couldn't anymore, and then she left me. So problem solved," Dick snapped, sitting up. He immediately regretted it, his jaw tightening as pain shot from the wound in his side.

"You're not saying it like a problem was solved. You're saying it like you're trying to get us to stop asking questions, so we'll leave you alone."

"It could be both," Dick muttered, lying back carefully. Barbara smoothed his blanket over his legs.

"Oh come on Dickie Bird," Jason lounged across the empty space of his bed, "you can tell us. We're big kids; we can handle it."

"I fell for her, and she dumped me," Dick said bluntly.

"Harsh," Jason groaned.

"Why was Deadshot involved?" Bruce asked; he ran his hand across his jaw below his cowl.

"Joker sent him after Ivy. He got me," Dick sighed. "Must be the Joker's lackey."

"Because?" he pried.

"Because she was sleeping with me- why are you all acting like this!?" He demanded, getting angrier at their persistence. "I was screwing Harley Quinn, the Joker got pissed about it, so he sent Deadshot to kill me. As he was about to finish me off, Harley came and stopped him, but she told me it was over in the process. Called me out for using her, told me that that was what she always was to me. All sorts of things that weren't true. Then she left." Dick stood carefully, waving Barbara away when she tried to help, and he looked up at Bruce, squaring his shoulders. "Enough of the story for you?" he asked, his jaw set. "Since you're always so forthcoming with us."

"I'm not the one whose secrets nearly got them killed," Bruce reminded him. "So while I'm sorry if her ending it hurt you, it's for the best." Jason winced sympathetically behind Bruce's back for Dick.

"Like your secrets never come back to haunt you, _Batman_ ," Dick snapped angrily, pushing past him and walking out of the cubicle. He grabbed his jacket along the way.

"Nightwing!" Barbara cried, chasing after him. "You know you're just going to make it worse with him." She slowed her pace to walk beside him.

"I don't care anymore," Dick muttered, gingerly touching his side. The bandages were tight around his waist, and he bit his lip as he glanced at Barbara. "If he wasn't such a hypocrite nowadays, maybe I wouldn't have a problem."

"Maybe if she hadn't hurt you and turned you away, you wouldn't have such a problem with him," she countered.

"Oh please, I can handle a bad break up, thanks," Dick muttered.

"Well then I won't be nice to you. If you want to be mad at the world, go ahead." She stepped around him, walking ahead.

"Barbara…" Dick sighed quietly, letting her go. She turned and walked backward in front of him.

"Let me know when you're ready to stop snapping and ready to talk."

"I know, I'm sorry," Dick sighed. "I'm just… this is all pretty fresh, and those jackasses just kept pressing me, wanting me to _say_ it… I'm sorry." He glanced at her and then looked up, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you."

"Yeah well you're going to have to say it eventually, and they're just not patient." She shrugged. "You did want to be ready for patrol again," she reminded him.

"I didn't want to be ready to let her go, though," he looked down. "Patrol was the way to go. I need to hit something."

"And rip your stitches out? I don't think so." Barbara shook her head. "You're going to have to work this out the hard way."

"What do you suggest?" he asked quietly. Barbara stopped and smiled.

"I can't just offer a magic fix, Dick. I'm not a therapist."

"Thanks," Dick frowned, looking down sadly. "I'll just head up to my room for some rest. See you at shift change." He walked to the elevator and watched Barbara as the doors closed.

* * *

Joker opened his eyes.

"Harley?" He coughed, raising a hand to touch the bandage on his head. Harley lifted her head up from where she was curled up next to him. She blinked her eyes open, realizing she must have dozed off.

"Puddin?"

"What... What happened?" Joker glanced at her and then sat up furiously. "Crane! That son of a bitch-" Harley grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't… be mad at him. And be careful." She glanced at the bandaging.

"That little slimy worm," Joker laughed through his teeth. "It was all fun and games," he muttered, chuckling as he allowed Harley to ease him back to the bed.

"He thought he was doing what was best," she murmured, fidgeting his bandages into a new position.

"But you took care of me," Joker said distractedly, catching her fidgeting hands.

"I…" She looked down. "I did leave for a little bit," she admitted. "We… I thought Ivy was in trouble."

"Rightly so," he laughed and then shook his head a bit as it spun from his concussion. "If I ever get ahold of her I'll throttle her. But you keep me in check, don't you, Doll?" He laughed, cupping a hand on her cheek.

"And, uh," she pursed her lips, her thumb tapping distractedly against the corner of his mouth, "Deadshot might have some bad news for ya."

"And what might that be, Harley?" Joker grinned at her steadily, his eyes set on her face.

"That I shot him in the hand and some other stuff happened and then Nightwing knocked him out." She bit the inside of her cheek. "In my defense, I thought I was going in ta save Red." Joker watched her for a moment. He smiled vacantly, and then pursed his lips.

"So you saved the little whelp, then," he sighed.

"A little," Harley admitted. "But I told him I had ta get back to you, and I think he got the message that I won't be seeing him anymore." She grinned hopefully at him even though she still felt crushed by the whole event. She didn't know what she'd expected of her relationship with Nightwing, but she would have never imagined it end up like that. Joker smiled a little at her, his eyes narrowing.

"And are you sure that it's what you want?" He cocked his head a bit.

"Yes," she assured him. "I don't want to see him anymore. Ever." Her cheeks burned with shame at the thought of seeing Dick again. It would be better for everyone if she avoided him. Joker grinned.

"That's my girl," he laughed, ruffling her hair and closing his eyes. Joker laid back in the pillows.

"How are you feelin'? Can I get ya anything?" She fussed over him.

"No no, I'm just fine," he smiled, and took a deep breath. "You could go feed Nygma and Dent, since I won't be able to." Harley looked at the bedroom door like she expected to be able to see them in the living room.

"Where are they? I haven't seen 'em up here in a while."

"I moved them downstairs. I know you didn't like them, and I'm sorry I have to ask you to feed them for me," he sighed. Harley grabbed his face and gave him a sloppy kiss before wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight.

"You're the best Mistah J. An' I'm sorry I've been so terrible to ya. I pinkie promise I'll be better, and I'll be in charge 'a feedin' 'em. Just don't hate me."

"I couldn't hate you," he laughed, wrapping his arm around her back. Joker grinned darkly to himself. Harley buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"Good, cuz you're all I got, Puddin."

"Well we watch out for each other," he purred, his coat soft under her hands.

"Us against the world," she giggled.

"Mad love," he agreed. Harley leaned back still smiling.

"You should rest. Does it hurt?"

"A little. I'll rest. So long as you stay." She grinned.

"I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

"Selina," Bruce sighed, "you know I want to stay, but with Dick off of city patrol, I should really head out there."

"Then I'm sorry to disappoint," she said quietly, looking up at him. When he'd walked into their penthouse, she'd had a picnic set up by the panoramic windows. She sat on the blanket now, her legs crossed. Selina picked her wine glass up. "Maybe Dick had the right idea," she muttered, downing the rest of the glass and picking up the bottle. He knelt down beside her and took the glass out of her hand, setting it down and cupping her chin.

"You know I want to be here with you."

"Oh I know." Selina looked out the window. "Doesn't make it hurt less." He leaned his forehead against hers.

"He's my son, I need to protect him and help him. But you're my wife, and I want to be here for you." He kissed her forehead. "This isn't an easy decision."

"We're a family. It shouldn't be a decision at all. You think I'm trying to make you choose between your wife and your son? Of course not. But that doesn't matter right now. I just want..." Selina laughed and then glanced at him. She bit her lip. They were a dark maroon today, her pale eyes rimmed in smoky black again. "Um… Hey. How… how many of the Batfamily members does it take to change a lightbulb?" she asked hesitantly, smiling a little. He stroked a thumb across her cheek.

"How many?"

"Um, none. Because you all like the dark," she giggled a little and smiled at him hopefully, putting a hand over his cupping her face. The corners of his mouth turned up.

"I don't want to leave you," he sighed. Selina looked down. All she wanted was for him to laugh at her, or even smile. He'd given her a little, but it wasn't the same.

"Just go, Bruce. I'll see you in half a week," she sighed, wrapping her arms around her legs pulled to her chest. Selina smiled a little. "I'm headed out for patrol as soon as the sun rises."

"That's hours away," he reminded her. He pulled her into his lap. "How can you expect me to leave when you look like that?"

"Like what? Exhausted and dirty, like the rest of the populus?" She sighed sadly, again curling into a ball on his lap. She was lying. It made her happy that he'd noticed that she'd napped all day and then showered and got ready for him.

"No," he scolded, kissing her forehead. "As beautiful and breathtaking as the day I met you. And every day after that. I'm really not sure how I ever leave." He smiled down at her. Selina smirked, but her heart leapt at his smile, and she began playing with his fingers in her lap.

"Oh Batman, if only you could romance the rest of the world like you do me," she joked, glancing at him before looking out of the windows at the dark skyline. It was strange, seeing the lightless city skyline, but it was a backdrop that they were all used to seeing by now. "And I'm fairly certain you'll find a way to leave," she chuckled. "Duty calls, and all that."

"The word duty implies reluctance. Extreme reluctance on my part." He held her closer. He'd trained for years under Ra's al Ghul, been Batman for over a decade, and faced countless villains, but seeing how sad it made her and still having to say goodbye was one of the hardest and most painful things he'd ever done. Selina glanced over her shoulder at him.

"It'll be ok, Bruce," she smiled a little, her eyes a bit unfocused. She looked thoughtfully down at their hands again. He lifted her chin back up.

"I know it'll be okay. That still doesn't make me want to leave."

"And it doesn't make me miss you any less," she laughed. "But we'll see each other again soon, right?"

"Not soon enough," he sighed. He stood up with her still in his arms. Selina wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, glancing at the dark sky outside.

"I'm standing up," he said simply.

"Well where are we going?" She cocked her head, smiling a bit.

"Despite what everyone says, I _don't_ always have a plan." He grinned, his graying hair tousled with his cowl pulled back. Selina laughed and smoothed it back, kissing his cheek.

"I can't believe you admit that," she giggled, and crossed her legs over his arm.

"If you tell anyone I did, they'll never believe you," he smirked.

"There's the Bruce I know," Selina giggled.

"You can't say that. I'm supposed to be mysterious."

"Well..." She traced a finger over his chest, looking down. "Do you think you could be super mysterious... _And_ be a husband and... And father?" She glanced at him, smiling. Bruce stared at her.

"I get the feeling you're _not_ talking about the kids I already have…"

"Well... No," she stopped smiling, watching him nervously. Her hand anxiously twisted in his hair at his neck. "Haven't you ever wanted...? I mean, with me..." She looked down, blushing.

"And you're…" He cleared his throat. "Are you… You're not…"

"Pregnant? No. I was just thinking about it, is all," she shrugged.

"You want to have a baby?" He glanced out the window. "Into the world we live in now?"

"What? You want me to wait? Is there a better time coming?" Selina dropped out of his arms, walking away and back to the windows.

"Where did this come from?" He ran a hand through his hair as he followed her, stepping around the picnic on the floor.

"Nowhere. It's just something I think about," she looked down. "Just forget I said anything."

"I can't forget it," he cried. He grabbed her arms and spun her around to look at him. "You just said you wanted to have a baby."

"And you just told me that it was a bad idea," she started crying, staring back at him. "It doesn't matter if _I_ want to."

"Hey," he pulled her into his arms, "it does matter what you want. You took me by surprise. I never imagined you'd want a kid with everything going on. I never even thought about it."

 _Because you're not talking about me. You wouldn't want to have a kid with everything going on, so you assumed I wouldn't either,_ she thought spitefully. "But you don't want to," Selina looked down, not hugging him back.

"Selina," he sighed. "Why do you want to? Don't we have enough to worry about? Aren't you stressed enough?"

"I said to just forget it," she pushed him away, walking to their bedroom and closing the door behind her. Bruce took a deep breath. He walked over to the door and knocked.

"Selina." He waited. "Please don't do this."

"Do what? Shut you out? Pretend nothing phases me? Sound like anyone you know?!" She shouted. "Or did you mean overreact? Too late," she sighed as she leaned against the door. What the hell was she doing? Why was she acting like this? She didn't want to spend this time apart, either, so why was there a door between them?

"No." He sighed, resigning himself to the fact that city patrol would be undermanned tonight. "Please don't refuse to speak to me during the little time we have together."

There was silence, and then he heard the door click open. Selina looked through the crack.

"I'm tired, Bruce. I'm tired of being the weak one, the one everyone's walking on eggshells around. I'm tired of being sad, and being like this-" Selina rubbed the tears in her eyes away angrily. "I want to stop being the useless one around here. Even Dick for all his messed up choices lately has got it right- maybe we have to fight, but maybe we have to fight for the right things. I'm tired of being handled like I'm made of glass, and I just want it all to stop." She stepped away from him when he tried to touch her, and she walked to the windows. "All of this, all of these people… they live simple little lives. But none of them are weak. They live day to day, not knowing if there will be a tomorrow, much less a _better_ one, and they work with what they have. They keep their heads up. So why can't I? I'm so helpless that I got myself bitten, I'm useless and incapable and these arguments are always all my fault and this world is going to _shit_ , even if you can't see it. I'm just… done."

"Hey." He didn't reach out to touch her again, no matter how much he wanted to. "You are _not_ incapable. And you are not nor will you ever be helpless. You're one of the strongest people I know. No one else could put up with me. Or anything else that goes on around here. Or survive being bitten and still be standing here in front of me pretending they're useless." He stared at her seriously. "Just because you feel strongly, doesn't make you weak." Selina didn't say anything, but she turned to look at him sadly.

"You're wrong. I get in the way, and I hold you back. I don't want to try anymore. I want you to be able to go out and do the hero thing- save Gotham, be the Batman- but I want… I want a part of you here, with me, so that when you leave, I can let you go. So that if you…" she looked down, tears welling in her eyes again. "If you _die_ , you'll still be with me."

"Selina." He grabbed her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "Stop it. I told you; we're going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen to me. You don't have to let me go because I'm always coming back."

"Go ahead, Bruce, lie through your teeth like you always do," she whispered. "Your sons believe you when you give them false hope and promise; I don't. I never did. There's no way we all make it through this."

"I'm not lying. I won't lie to you," he assured her. "You think I would dare die on you?" He smoothed her hair. "I would never do that to you. I will always come back."

She watched him, and then looked down in resignation. "Okay," she agreed, stepping closer to him. He lifted her chin up.

"Don't worry about me."

"That's funny, I was about to say the same to you, but would it stop you?" Selina smirked.

"No," he agreed. "But I can hide it better."

"You're avoiding what I said."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I want to have a baby, and you don't. And the sun's coming up soon, so we should be getting ready," she walked past him to the closet, pulling out her uniform.

"You did just spring it on me five minutes ago. You can't expect me to be anything but surprised." He ran a hand across his jaw. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," she sighed, pulling her catsuit on.

"Then what?" he asked. "Disappointed? Frustrated?"

"Indifferent," she shrugged her jacket on, zipping it up.

"Selina," he sighed, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around to face him. "You're not indifferent. You know I love you. I just don't think a baby is the right decision right now."

"And I trust your judgement," she said sadly, watching him. She shrugged his hands away and pulled her cowl over her hair. He nodded.

"I'm sorry. I know this isn't the life you wanted."

"Bruce," Selina turned to look at him, lifting a hand to stroke his cheek. "That doesn't matter anymore. _This_ is the life we live now. I just don't want to live it without you."

"I know." He studied her for a long moment. "I just want to make you happy, but increasingly, it feels like I keep denying you happiness. I want you to have everything you could ever want, and it's hard that I can't give you everything."

"I don't need everything. I need you." Selina smiled a little.

" _Everything_ you want." He grabbed her hand. "Like I said, it's never easy to leave you."

"I know, sweetheart," she smiled a little. "Thank you for trying." He pulled her back into her arms.

"For you, I'll always try," he promised.

"And that's all I ask," Selina stroked his hair, holding him tight.

"And all I ask is that you don't stop being you," he told her. "You don't have to try and hold things in because you think you're weak or that's what I want. Stay the you who isn't afraid to give me hell. You were never afraid to tell me how you felt. Don't start now."

"Promise," she kissed him gently and then smiled a little, stroking his hair.

"Good," he smiled a little, "and I'm sorry I ruined your picnic."

Selina smirked. "You know, I don't think it would've lasted long with us, anyway. Your loss, big man."

* * *

"Jason," Stephanie whined, "hurry up and get out here."

"I'm coming as fast as I can," he muttered. He was draped across his bed, his head hanging over the edge. Steph groaned. "Hey, at least you got off supply run to cover city patrol. I never got my break." She rolled her eyes.

"Just get out here you whiney baby. It's not my fault Dick had a breakdown. Just get out here before Bruce freaks out that no one's covering Gotham."

"I told you I was hurrying," he complained.

"That doesn't look like hurrying." Jason's head snapped around to see Ivy standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

"I knew it!" Steph cried over the comms before Jason flicked it off. He sat up and glanced nervously around his room. It was clean and nothing was out of place, but it was sparse. There wasn't anything extra or decorative; it was just where he crashed. He didn't spend much time in here aside from sleeping.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Kate left for supply run." She shrugged. It was weird hearing her name come out of Ivy's mouth, but Kate hadn't been a stickler for identities after the Infection outbreak. Bruce had put Kate in charge of watching over Ivy, and making sure she wasn't a threat.

"Right." He cleared his throat. "So how's the tower?"

"Okay." She added, "From what I'm allowed to see."

"Well you _have_ threatened to kill us all," Jason defended. He stood up, stretching his back.

"I'm not complaining. Except for the lack of life around here." She looked around his practically empty room.

"No one's really around enough to keep houseplants." He yawned. "But I'm sure you'll fix that."

"And what exactly am I supposed to be doing around here?"

"Nothing really." Jason shrugged and sat back down on his bed. "You're not really trusted around here yet."

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you trust me?"

"Not really," he answered honestly.

"And that's why…" She gestured at his face. "The mask."

"What?" He reached up and touched his face at the same time he remembered he still had his mask on. He'd taken his Red Hood helmet off because he felt ridiculous walking around the tower with it but knew Bruce didn't want Ivy knowing too much about them yet, so he'd put his mask on and forgotten about it. "Oh yeah," he grunted. Wearing it reminded him of times he'd rather forget.

"So I still don't get to see what you look like?"

"Not yet, Huckleberry." He grinned, and Ivy rolled her eyes. At least she could see his expressions now; it was progress.

"I swear if I look hard enough, I'm going to find a book in here with a list of plant names."

Jason laughed. "I'll admit, not my best line." He laid back on the bed. "Cut me some slack."

"Aren't you supposed to be hurrying somewhere?" she reminded him.

"Shit." He reluctantly stood back up.

"Is it always like this?" Jason stared at her in confusion. "Everyone out doing their job."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Welcome to the dream life huh?" He grabbed his helmet off the table and walked to the door. He held it open for her. "We take rotating breaks. Spoiler has the next one, and Nightwing and I have the one after that. Unless I can convince Spoiler to switch with me," he muttered. Ivy stepped out into hall.

"So someone's always here to make sure I don't get into trouble."

"Exactly." They walked over to the elevator in silence until Jason's comm beeped. "Yes Spoiler, I am coming."

"It's almost shift change," she complained.

"I know, so I might as well not even head out-"

"-I am not switching with you," she interrupted, and he laughed.

"It was worth a shot."

"So how's the walking flower?" she taunted.

"Goodbye Spoiler." The elevator stopped to let Ivy out. She paused as stepped off.

"How do you know I'm not going to gas everyone?"

"Are you?" he asked with a small smile.

"No."

"Air filtration system."

"I could just poison everyone while you're gone," she challenged.

"Again, are you going to?" he asked in amusement. She stared at him for a long moment before finally answering.

"No."

"I'm starting to think you just don't want me to leave." Her face immediately turned sour.

"Bye." She got off the elevator as he laughed.

"See you later, Tiger Lily." She couldn't help but glance back as the doors closed on him. He was smiling after her, his helmet still tucked under his arm. She begrudgingly smiled back as the doors shut, once again pleased she could see his expressions.

* * *

Stephanie walked sluggishly into the labs, the bright white lighting making her tired eyes burn a little after being out in the dark for so long. It was nearly six in the morning, none of the scientists were awake yet, and the lab was empty save for the sounds of growling coming from the far end. Red Robin stood in front of the glass quarantine observation room, where an Infected paced the length of the wall of windows. It growled and snarled, moving with a burst of speed to slam into the glass. Red Robin furiously scribbled away in a yellow business notepad.

"I may not be a scientist," Steph said, "but I'm going to take a wild guess and say he's Infected." Tim jumped when she spoke, and glanced over his shoulder. He smiled a little. Tired eyes blinked slowly, and he took a deep breath.

"Yeah. And also been injected with an absolute _ton_ of a fear toxin that we synthesized from the blood of the other people that Scarecrow had gassed." He turned back to the zombie in the observation room, it's eyes fixed on the two heroes.

"And that does?" She stepped beside him, shooting him a quick grin.

"Different things to different Infected. They're still people. This guy, in particular, is less scared. It's like he's _furious,_ " Tim explained, pursing his lips as he watched the Infected claw at the glass in front of them.

"Maybe you insulted his sister," Steph whispered as she watched the zombie with fascination.

"Maybe I… what?" Tim finally tore his attention off of the snarling figure behind the glass and looked at Stephanie with a frown. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. He was clearly overtired. "I'm just trying to come up with ideas here. Maybe we put him in jail or something."

"Oh." Tim looked down at the words scrawled illegibly all over the yellow page, with complete disregard for the lines. "You know, I've thought of something," he mused, turning the pad of paper so that he could look at something he'd written sideways. "If- in the problem's _simplest_ form- the brain isn't technically dead, just dormant and trying to preserve itself, then theoretically, if we could get a telepath like Martian Manhunter to help, not only could we maybe restore the brain's functions, but also that person's memories. Personality. Everything back the way it was." He stopped, biting the eraser of his pencil. "But that still doesn't solve the physical damage…"

"Okay," Steph yawned. "I'll take your word for it."

"Okay," Tim agreed, yawning when she did.

"Jinx!" she cried and punched him in the arm. "You owe me a kiss."

"I don't think that's how it works," Tim laughed. "And I don't think you can jinx a yawn." He walked back to his desk, his half cape sweeping around his waist. Tim glanced around the lab before rubbing the back of his neck. "Ready to go?" He asked, his eyes settling on Stephanie.

"Nope." She smiled sleepily at him and leaned against the glass wall the Infected was behind. "Not until I get my kiss."

Tim pursed his lips, glad that she couldn't see his cheeks reddening under his mask. She was so beautiful. He wasn't about to admit that he'd recently asked Dick and begged Jason for advice on the front regarding women, but he had; and he'd take that secret to the grave with him. That didn't mean that he couldn't employ some of the tactics that they'd told him to.

Tim walked around his desk, in what he hoped was an elegant fashion, and moved towards Stephanie, planting one hand on the glass beside her head as he leaned closer to her. Tim took his mask off and ran a hand through his hair, his blue eyes meeting hers.

"Just a kiss?" He asked quietly, smiling a little. He hoped that he looked seductive or tempting, and not quite as idiotic and clumsy as he felt.

"I did say jinx." She grinned. Not that he was awkward, but Tim had never been the most suave at anything seductive, and she could tell he was trying and thought it was cute. He was a lot less shy than when they'd met as Robin and Spoiler, but she would have hated to have him change completely anyway. She reached forward and bunched her hands in either side of his cape. Tim kissed her gently, cupping her face with his other hand. He pressed her against the glass, wrapping an arm around her waist.

The Infected slammed into the glass behind them, and Steph jumped and screamed. Tim laughed and glanced over her shoulder, holding her tight.

"It's ok, Stephie, I've got you," he chuckled quietly and looked down at her, smiling.

"I'm too tired for it to turn into a horror movie in here," she complained.

"Then let's go," he amended, taking her hand as he pulled his mask back over his head and led her from the labs, turning lights off as he went.

"So how's the sciencing been going?" She yawed, pressing her face into his back as they walked. Tim smiled a little. They stepped onto the elevator and he pulled her in front of him, kissing her cheek as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Not bad. Not good, but not bad," he told her, his voice quiet in the enclosed space. Tim leaned over and pressed the elevator button.

"Good," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," he smiled a little, leaning back against the wall. His hands rested on her hips. He hoped he was pulling off an attractive gaze.

"I'm too tired for you to try and seduce me," she laughed. "It's going to work." Tim blushed.

"I'm not trying..." He muttered, walking out of the elevator and towards his bedroom. Tim closed the door behind them. Steph dropped face first into his bed and pulled a pillow toward her.

"Then maybe I'm just flattering myself," she mumbled. Tim watched her, and then crawled into bed beside her.

"Stephie?" He asked, gently pulling her hood down and sliding her jacket down her arms. He carefully pulled her tank top over her head and started massaging her exposed shoulders.

"Yeah?" She smashed the pillow in her arms, turning her head to smile up at him. Tim pulled his gloves off and slid his hands under the back of her sports bra, rubbing her back.

"Do you love me?" He smiled, leaning down to kiss her shoulder.

"You know it Drake," she laughed. "Why the sudden uncertainty?"

"Just wanted to make sure," he smiled a little, hooking his thumbs under her pants. He pulled them down and she felt his lips trail all the way up her leg delicately, his hands following the motion as he planted a kiss at the small of her back. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"And what about you? Do I need to make sure?"

"I love you," he assured her, tugging his cape and shirt off before laying down beside her, one leg draped between hers, his hand absently trailing up and down her spine.

"Good boyfriend," she laughed, turning to face him better and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Tim smiled and pulled her closer to his chest. The room was dark thanks to paneled curtains over the floor to ceiling windows.

"Good," he chuckled, closing his eyes. His bare chest was warm and inviting, his arms around her further emphasizing the sleepy, safe feeling in the room.

"What do you think life would be like if the Infection had never happened?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder. "If we got to see each other more than every four days... or less I guess if I can make a good patrol trade off. And if you didn't have to worry so much over the cure. But would we have even started dating again?"

"I like to think that we would have found each other," Tim smiled.

"It's just... First it was Alfred, and Helena, and everyone else then Maggie, and then nearly Selina and even Dick seems like he's falling apart. I'm tired of losing everyone to this stupid disease." She pinched her eyes shut, clinging tighter to him.

"Shhhh we have to hold on. I know how much it hurts," he agreed, pressing his lips against her hairline.

"But what's even going to be left at the end?"

"I don't know, Stephie," he said quietly. "I really don't know." She grabbed his face and stared at him, her eyes panicked.

"Then lie to me and say everything's going to be all right," she begged.

"Everything will be alright," he smiled, holding her tightly. "You and I are going to live our lives, get married, have babies, and be happy," he assured her. She nodded, hugging him again.

"But the babies better wait a couple years," she warned.

"Hey, I'm content with sleep. It's you who's always all over me when you come back. You just like me for my body," Tim grinned.

"It's a great body," she giggled. "With an equally attractive brain." She kissed his forehead. "And you insult me," she got mock offended. "Am I that undesirable?"

"I used to think about nothing but you," he confessed. "But it got too distracting."

"Well you shouldn't have stopped." She gave him a quick kiss and pushed the pillow into a more comfortable spot.

"I haven't. I've just... Made sure it wasn't visible in my pants quite as often," he laughed, his cheeks reddening. Steph grinned.

"And what about now?" she asked, pulling him beside her on the pillow.

"Mmm. Now is good," he smiled and kissed her gently, savoring the taste.

"Our break days are supposed to be about us resting," she laughed before kissing him again. Her arms wound around his neck and pulled him closer.

"We're resting." Tim smiled into her kiss. He sighed slowly. "Someday Stephie. Someday I'm going to take you away someplace where it's always warm, and there are no zombies or bad guys, just us." Tim kissed her lazily, stroking her hip with his thumb. "Someplace in the woods with blue skies and a crystal clear lake, with our own personal beach in the sun."

"I'll pack the sunscreen," she sighed, blinking sleepily at him. Tim kissed her neck gently, holding her close. He yawned.

"And I'll build you a house. Just the way you want it. And we'll go to sleep to the sounds of the forest every night, and we'll go swimming and lay on the beach and go hiking and I'll pick you wildflowers every day." He smiled. "And we only have to wear clothes if we want to." Steph giggled.

"See, you just want me for my body too."

Tim smiled at her. "Desperately," he commented, kissing her slowly.

"Well it's not like it's off limits," she smirked, her hand grabbing his side. Tim smiled and kissed her softly.

"I love you."

"I thought we already discussed this." She giggled and gave him a quick kiss. "I love you too."


	28. The One Where The Squad Attacks

Four villains stood around the table, each positioned on his or her own side, as if preparing for a card game. Weapons were laid out in front of them, the only ones they had; probably the only ones in Arkham City, and the Joker reached for one.

"We'll have to be fast," he nodded, pursing his scarlet lips before his eyes flicked up to look across the table. There was still a bandage wrapped around his head where Crane had hit him. Scarecrow's face was covered by burlap and a gas mask; his wide brimmed straw hat cast a shadow over his features and darkened his eyes like a demon's as he watched the Joker.

"And we'll have to time it correctly," he commented, his voice muffled by the gas mask over his mouth. "Once Deadshot has eliminated the uptown bridge defenses, we only have so much time before they realize we've crossed over into the rest of Gotham." The Joker nodded and chuckled to himself.

"Crane and I will be the Z for 'zombie' squad," Joker grinned. "He and I will take Nygma and Dent and a selection of other zombies to Downtown, where we'll create a distraction. We'll attack the Batman."

* * *

Crane tried not to jump as another zombie slammed into the divider between the front of the van and the back cargo. He looked over at Joker in the driver's seat.

"As the distraction," he said, "the likelihood of fatalities on this trip is skewed heavily toward us."

Joker grinned at him and pushed his hair back with one hand before sharply turning a corner. Crane's head nearly slammed against the window, and the zombies toppled like dominoes in the back. Joker laughed.

"Then buckle up, buttercup, and don't get yourself killed," he cackled. Crane braced himself against the door. He checked his watch.

"Just get us to Downtown _without_ killing us before we even start."

"I make no promises," Joker grinned as they turned another corner and barreled towards the bridge into Downtown. It was unguarded. "I just wish Nygma could have ridden up front..." He turned, looking back at Riddler smashed against the divider.

"I'm sure it would have been... ripe," Crane said simply. "Although the burned half of Dent is decaying remarkably fast," he added conversationally as he adjusted his mask. "He may lose that eye soon."

"Good, that's less of him to pick on my Riddler," Joker muttered. "Traitor." They'd almost reached the neighborhoods, and Joker grinned as he spotted a police car with an officer standing off to the side. "Hold on!" He swerved.

"Joker what are you doing?! Stick to the plan!"

Joker cackled as the policeman bounced over the hood, and then he continued on his way, laughing gleefully. He glanced at Scarecrow.

"Oh lighten up, you old beanpole," he muttered, laughing again. "We're almost there."

"We don't need any unnecessary risks," Crane reminded him. Joker spun to a stop near the edge of a rundown neighborhood and turned the van off. He climbed up to the roof of the truck and then leaned over the back, popping the latch to let the zombies out. He grinned over his shoulder at Crane.

"We're trying to get Batman's attention. There _are_ no unnecessary risks." Zombies began pouring out of the back of the van, drawn by the smell of fresh humans, and Joker laid above the door as he waited to catch Riddler coming out. "Now grab Dent." Crane quickly grabbed the dog catcher pole he'd crammed into the front seat with them and went around back to try and catch the zombie. Joker quickly grabbed the chain around Nygma's neck and laughed, the zombie choking as he pulled against it. The rest of the monsters flooded down the street, beelining for the crowded populous, smelling the scent of human flesh on the breeze. "Let the madness begin," Joker grinned as they cleared away, and he jumped down from the truck. Nygma didn't attack him, instead he snuffed at the streets where screams had begun to rise, pulling against his chain. Dent, too, was straining. "Let's go join the action, shall we, Scarecrow?" Joker grinned.

* * *

"As we're making our move on Bats Downtown, the F for 'food' squad will be a secondary distraction, attacking Wayne Tower to steal food and supplies," Joker grinned picking up a pistol in his hand.

"It's imperative that they're timed together," Scarecrow explained. "Firstly, if we attack at the same time, the bats won't have time to redistribute their power. We'll trap them. Batman won't be able to provide aid in Midtown, and no one will be able to help him in Downtown. Secondly: if the attacks are timed just right, it will fool Batman into thinking that Joker and I are providing a distraction for the theft of the food and weaponry." They were attacking in one day's time, and Harley knew why. Batman and Robin would be on city patrol and in prime position. If their schedule guess was correct, Red Hood and Blackbat would be on Arkham patrol and scrambling to catch up. And Nightwing would be out on supply run. It would leave the tower virtually unprotected, and all of that information had come from Harley.

"Misdirection," Deadshot muttered in approval, shifting a bit with his heavy rifle in his arms. He looked across the table at Harley. "Love a bit of sleight-of-hand," Deadshot smirked, biting his lip as he raised his eyebrows. Joker glanced at him, his teeth grinding together.

"Don't make me shoot you," he hissed.

* * *

"What the hell is happening?" Jason demanded. He and Cass were on Arkham patrol, and she'd commed him to tell him something about the bridge guard when Bruce's feed had cut across hers.

"The Joker's staged some sort of an attack," Batman barked. "He's releasing Infected onto the civilian population, I need some backup here."

"That's a negative, Batman," Kate answered, yanking her costume on as she stumbled out the door of her bedroom. "We just got the red alert here, and I need all the help I can get. A separate group is attacking the food stores here at the tower."

Damian sprinted around a corner and Batman saw him leap into the fray, Titus lunging at the nearest Infected. "We'll help father," Damian alerted the rest of the team.

"Meet me in the supply area, Batgirl," Kate instructed.

"What do I do?!" Tim glanced at Barbara nervously. The alert had sounded and the labs were evacuating. Barbara twirled her hair around her finger.

"You stay here," she finally decided. "Help evacuation and make sure this area's secure. I'll go help Batwoman."

"Father," Damian called over the zombies heads. "Orders?!"

"Protect civilians at all costs."

"They're headed to the armory!" Kate cried into her comm, and Barbara sprinted to the door.

"On my way."

"What the hell is going on?" Dick cried into the comm.

"Not much, just you slacking off, _Dick_ ," Jason commented as he sprinted to the bridge. Cass was already speeding through Midtown.

"The Joker has coordinated another attack," Damian explained, bashing a zombie's head in before it could bite the man it had cornered. "Spoiler and I are in Downtown protecting civilians against the Infected he released. Father is fighting off the Joker and Scarecrow." He ran towards another Infected, but Titus beat him to it, tearing into the zombie as it tried to crawl away. "Batgirl, Blackbat, Batwoman and Red Hood are trying to stop a raid on Wayne Tower. It looks like Downtown was the distraction so they can steal food and weaponry."

 _Harley?!_ Dick thought in a panic, fighting the urge to ask if anyone had seen her yet.

"We're on our way back," Selina decided, shouting at everyone to get back into the trucks.

"They're splitting into two groups!" Kate updated.

"Damn it, what the _hell_ are they doing?!" Barbara cried.

* * *

"The alarms and confusion as the F Squad raids their store rooms and armory will draw the cavalry to them. Which is exactly what we want," Scarecrow glanced at Harley. "As soon as you get the signal, you and Deadshot will go into the labs, retrieving everything on this list," Crane handed her a crumpled piece of paper. Harley looked it over.

"Kay," she looked up at the Joker, "how are we going in? And do we get a cool squad name too?"

"You'll go stealth. Don't let anyone see you, we don't want them to know that you two are even in the building. And you can be Squad M, for medical," he nodded decisively. "We'll reach you with these-" he tossed four radios onto the table- "that we dug off of the corpses of Arkham staff. Savvy?" Harley picked hers up and clicked it on.

"Roger that." She released the button and grinned. Joker laughed.

"I'm going to be giving the F squad a special formula of my fear toxin to help create a smoke cover for you… for Squad M to sneak through," Crane added. "They'll be the diversion at the tower for you guys. Their actions should be enough of a diversion. If you get through undetected, it's your job to get into the labs."

"We'll use the loading bays if we have one of the vans," Deadshot said. "It'll be easier to load the needed equipment and an easy access point."

* * *

Deadshot looked over his shoulder around the corner in the hall as the last of the scientists drained from the labs.

"You did good, Love," he commented, readying his gun and shooting a single shot down the hallway. The magnetic pellet he fired met its mark, wedging in the door just before it latched. "Come on," he led the way and wrenched the door open, glancing back at Harley. "Get the shopping list out, we've probably got five or six minutes. I'm being pessimistic of course." She coughed a little at the fear toxin fumes. A wayward zombie stumbled toward them before its eyes went wide and it took off in the other direction.

"Ya don't have ta be so bossy," Harley muttered, skipping through the lab as she gathered supplies. The two of them had remained behind in the van when the F squad started its assault, and everyone's attention was too focused elsewhere to notice them.

"Aw, don't pretend you don't _love it,_ " Deadshot smirked, watching her over over the desks and laboratory tables. Harley paused with her arms full of beakers.

"Ya know, you've been a real jerk since your daughter died," she commented.

"And you've been a real sour puss since you lost your bat-squeeze," he snapped back. "Something about him made you a little less insufferable."

Deadshot suddenly cried out as Red Robin tackled him, his gun skittering off across the linoleum. He pulled another and fired it at the hero, but he dodged it, diving to the side and rolling to his feet.

"What do you think you're doing here?" He demanded, but he wasn't looking at Deadshot.

"Umm," Harley glanced around then down at her full arms, "redecorating?"

"You've got some nerve, the two of you," Red Robin muttered. Deadshot watched him, his gun raised.

"I'd prefer to call it spunk. We've gotta lotta spunk coming here." Harley grinned. Red Robin's hand flew to his ear to press his comm, but he screamed when Deadshot fired at him and the bullet tore through his hand. Red Robin fell backwards, groaning as Deadshot stood above him.

"Don't get back up, kid. Harley, finish up here," Deadshot instructed, throwing her the bag. She bit the inside of her cheek and glanced at Red Robin before nodding and doing as she was told.

"Why the hell did you even get in with him, anyway? Was it to get him killed all along? You get your kicks by sleeping with other guys so the Joker will murder them, is that it?" Tim stuttered through his teeth, trying to stop the bleeding in his trembling hand. His ears were ringing. Deadshot glanced at Harley, curious about her answer. She glanced between the two of them with her mouth open.

* * *

"And Harley, Doll," Joker glanced at her, smiling. "Go fetch the comm that Nightwing gave you," he chuckled. She froze as everyone stared at her.

"What?"

"Go get it, sweetie, I'm not angry. Why would I be angry that you got such a useful tool? You did exactly what you said you were doing, playing him, correct?" He watched her calmly, that devious gleam in his eye that always sent a thrill through her. Now it seemed foreboding. Harley nodded and obediently went to go get it. She didn't have any clever quip or come back and handed him the comm wordlessly. Joker tossed it to Crane.

"The little button in the side," he instructed. "Turn it on when we attack, and we can hear every little whisper between the Bats." Joker glanced at Harley with a grin. "Good work," he praised.

"It was nothin' Puddin." She gave him a half smile, playing with the walkie-talkie.

"No really, well done, love," Deadshot smirked at her across the table. Joker hissed through his teeth.

"How ya feelin'?" she taunted. "Still a little drowsy?" She smirked. "Do ya need ta lay down?"

"If you and your boyfriend hadn't drugged me, I'd be in better shape. But thanks for your concern," he winked. Harley rolled her eyes.

"Oh boo hoo. You're supposed to be the best shot in the world; didn't think you'd be that easy to take down."

"You're supposed to be his," Deadshot jerked his head towards the Joker, "but that didn't stop you from fooling around with me or the batboy," he sneered.

"And knowing you were never gonna be the one didn't stop you," she countered.

"Hey, baby, you weren't the only one just in it for the sex," he raised an eyebrow. "And if you believe that there is a 'one' for you, you should keep your legs closed next time a bat brat comes on patrol," he sneered, but his chuckling was cut off when the Joker lunged across the table at him. Scarecrow cried out and tried to pry the Joker's hands away from Deadshot's throat. The gunman fell back, gasping, finally freed.

"Enough," Joker barked, his teeth bared in a fury as he watched Deadshot. "We have work to do."

* * *

"We've got part of the group cornered by the armory," Batwoman's comm feed crackled over the radio at Harley's hip and she jumped.

"You _bitch!_ " Red Robin snapped, and Deadshot hit him in the face again. He had him pinned against the wall after he'd jumped him again. Red Robin panted. "He trusted you-"

"-Harley! Finish this shit up!" Deadshot snapped, glancing at the zombie pacing in its glass cage. She flinched before hurriedly stuffing whatever she could into the bag.

"Robin and I have contained the bulk of the Downtown zombies," Spoiler updated over comms. "How long until supply run gets back? We won't be able to find all of them ourselves before they cause serious damage."

"We're almost to the bridge," Dick's voice came over the comms. He grit his teeth as Selina went over a pothole at full speed, and she glanced at him.

"Sorry- don't strain yourself, Dick, you're still not at one hundred percent," she muttered.

"We're at the bridge," he talked over her. Harley reflexively glanced to the east before looking back at Deadshot, her hand frozen halfway in the bag.

"Wrap it up," Deadshot barked, and Tim suddenly lifted his legs up and kicked him away. He landed on the floor and scrambled towards his desk, slamming his hand down on an alert button; the doors bolted as alarms started blaring, and Deadshot started shooting at him. Red Robin dove behind his desk. "Now, Harley, we have to get out!" Deadshot shouted. He paused and took aim, blowing the keypad on the glass cage where the zombie paced. " _Now._ " Deadshot snapped, grabbing Harley's arm. She protected the bag to make sure nothing broke as he dragged her along.

"And how do you propose we get outta here tough guy?" she taunted. There was a scream from behind them as Deadshot let her go, firing two shots into the bulletproof glass door. It spiderwebbed but didn't shatter, and he dove through it, protecting his head. He landed on his feet on the other side, holding his hand out to her.

"Come on!" he shouted. Harley leapt carefully over the broken glass before turning back to look at Red Robin one last time. He'd been overtaken by the zombie, fighting to throw it away from him, blood dripping over the emblem on his chest.

* * *

"All of this sounds well and good," Harley chimed in, "but how are we supposed to get outta Gotham once the Bats are on our tails? I'm all for goin' in guns blazin', but I don't wanna think about what happens if we stick around."

"We'll get out alright," Joker assured her. "All we have to do is get back to the vans, and leave the heroes to me."

Joker glanced at Deadshot, and he nodded.

"Me and the sharpshooter over here."

"Just make sure you get back to the van in time," Crane advised. "We wait for no one."

"Got it." Harley nodded seriously before grinning. "This is gonna be fun."

* * *

"This isn't fun," Harley complained as her and Deadshot ran through the Wayne Tower halls.

"We're almost to the loading bay-" he grabbed his walkie talkie off of his belt. "F Squad, are you all loaded?!"

"Just about," a gruff voice answered. "Some of us are still fighting off the lady bats, but we'll be ready when you reach the truck."

"Are we there yet?" Harley whined.

They burst out into the open loading bay through a pair of double doors, and Deadshot covered Harley as they ran to the truck, shooting at the police officers engaged in battle with the F Squad.

"Get in the van!" Deadshot barked, shoving Harley gruffly towards the back, filled with food and weaponry. The bay doors started to close, and Deadshot whirled around to shoot at the panel. An officer shot at him and he ducked behind the truck doors. "Damn it! Missed," he muttered, glancing through the window. "Doors are closing! Go go go!" He commanded as the last of their team leapt onto the truck. Harley laughed.

"You've been missin a lot lately-" she was cut off as the van was jerked into motion and she fell backwards.

"Bye love," Deadshot smiled a little at her, slamming the truck doors behind her as it tore away towards the closing space to freedom. She watched through the windows as Deadshot walked towards the panel, firing until the doors finally stopped. He turned around and waved cheerily to Harley.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, but didn't think he could hear her, her voice echoing through the vehicle.

"His job," one of the other gunman behind her said. "That was always the plan. Didn't you know?"

As they rocketed through the gap in the doors, Harley saw Deadshot raise his gun to his head.

"No!" she screamed. He was out of sight in an instant, and they were tearing down the road again towards the Uptown Bridge.

"Calm down, Quinn," the gunman sighed. "He was to stay behind to ensure our escape. But it's not like he can be taken alive."

"And everyone knew but me?" she snapped at him.

"Apparently," he snapped right back, his dirty blonde hair falling in his eyes. He pursed his lips and then sighed. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," she muttered. "Where's Mistah J? Did he make it out alive cuz if he did I'm gonna kill him." She laid down on the floor. "And did you guys get cake? I'm starving."

He paused to rummage around in the piles of food, and then smiled and tossed her a little hostess chocolate cupcake. "You only get one. I want the other one," he chuckled. She sat back up.

"Sweet Betty Crocker that looks good." Harley bit off as much as she could fit in her mouth and let out a contented noise. "Chocolate," she mumbled through her mouthful. The gunman laughed.

"And yes, the Joker and Scarecrow are headed back as well-" he had to catch himself when they hit a bump at top speed- "we'll be back soon." Harley chewed slowly. She realized she wasn't excited to make it back to Arkham. There was no one there anymore. Deadshot may have been a jerk, but she kind of enjoyed that about him. And with Ivy gone too... The gunman watched her as they crossed the bridge into Uptown. He tossed her his cupcake. "Here. You look like you need it more than I do." She held the cupcake up and looked at it as she finished the first one.

"Do you think I could overdose on chocolate? Ya know, since I haven't had it in so long."

"Nah. It'd be banned if it was half as fun as drugs," he smirked. They rolled to a stop outside of the tower as the Joker's vehicle careened into the street behind them. Harley rolled to her feet and grabbed the bag full of lab equipment.

"Crane!' she cried as she flung the door open. "I got your goodies!"

"All of them?" he cried as he got out of the truck, pulling his mask off. Harley peeked in the bag.

"Well we might 'a missed one or two," she admitted.

"That's ok," he grinned. "This is good."

"I could always just go straight back if ya need something," she joked and laughed.

"Nah, I can work with this," he grinned. Joker jumped out and hauled Nygma and Dent out of the back of the truck. Harley glanced at him before back at Crane.

"I mighta heard glass breaking at one point so hopefully too much ain't damaged."

"I can make do," he laughed. The Joker sauntered up to her and wrapped an arm over her shoulder.

"You did perfectly," he grinned.

"I'm gonna go see if they need help unloading the weapons," she told Crane before walking away. Crane took the bag from her and walked to the food truck, slinging it over his shoulder as he opened the back doors and began taking inventory. Harley helped the gunman who'd given the cupcakes unload ammo before she suddenly paused. "Do I have chocolate on my face?" She panicked and wiped at her mouth.

"What?" He laughed. "No," the gunman shook his head, chuckling. "There is no chocolate on your face."

"Good cuz no one has the decency to tell ya those things." She wiped her mouth one more time and smiled at him before grabbing another load.

"You're pretty sour," he laughed, checking things off as Harley pulled them out of the truck. She could hear the hint of a Brooklyn accent under his words, barely detectable.

"You haven't seen my bad side," she grinned, "trust me. Just stay on my good side unless ya want a real interestin' time." She winked and laughed.

"Harley," Joker barked. "Come."

He'd put Nygma and Dent back on their chains in the boiler room, and Crane was almost finished taking inventory. A crowd was gathering now, waiting on new food rations. The gunman glanced at her.

"You'd better go," he muttered, sandy hair falling over his eyes again. He was tall. Handsome in an unconventional way, and big. A soldier. Harley glanced over at Joker, her eyes darkening.

"He can wait," she said and kept unloading. "As far as I'm aware, me helping unload was the plan all along. Unless you were told more than me?" she challenged.

"Calm down!" he laughed. "Er- don't, cuz I don't think you're supposed to tell girls that- Look, don't take it out on me," he glanced at her before examining a few smoke grenades and scribbling them on his notes. His shorthand was medical in background, barely readable scrawl.

"I know, I know," she sighed, looking at the last of the pile. "I'll go _if_ you tell me what an army medic is doin' in Arkham."

"Former. Former military doctor, and specialist, and sniper- Is it really any wonder I fell short of society's standards?" he chuckled. "What about you? People talk, you know. They say you were always here, if not as a patient. You were a psychologist?"

"Former. Former Arkham psychologist." She grinned. "But ya never told me what ya did ta get in here."

"I got around back in the day," he smiled. "Did a lot. Killed a lot of people, built bombs, robbed places. I was in for a lot of stuff."

"Well I don't think it's any big secret why I got put in here," she laughed.

"No, I don't think so," He checked off the last of the weaponry and sighed, pushing his blonde hair back from his forehead as he looked up at the sky. "It's getting hot," he muttered, and then smiled. "Well that's the last of it. It was nice talking to you, Harley Quinn," he smirked.

"You too, mysterious no named person." She waved and started to walk away.

"Names only make you more attached. Names can tear the heart out of you faster than a bullet," he called after her. "See you around."

"Bye cryptic soldier dude!" she called back and laughed as she walked to the tower. She pushed the door open with her hip and headed to the elevator. She hit the button to her floor, closed the cage doors, and twirled her radio in her hands as it went up. When the doors opened, the Joker stood with his back to the elevator by the windows, looking down at the crowd below.

"Dick," he muttered.

"What?" Harley asked, tossing her radio onto the table.

"Dick," he repeated, glancing over his shoulder at her. She stared at him for a second.

"I still don't understand."

"Just something one of them said over the communicators. You did brilliantly, by the way," he turned to her, smiling. He seemed like he was waiting on something.

"You think it's funny that I'm upset by his death, don't you?" she accused, crossing her arms.

"I think it's cathartic," he corrected, grinning wider.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" she demanded. "Everyone else knew. But _me_."

"Because I knew you were the only one who could talk him out of it, Doctor, and believe it or not, he _wanted_ this," Joker strolled towards her, stopping within an inch of her face. "And I think you need to learn."

"Learn what?" she snapped, her jaw set.

"That you can't have friends in this world. In this life," he whispered in her ear, grinning.

"And why not?" she pouted. "Why can't I talk to people? And be happy?"

"Because people _die._ "

"Not if _you_ don't kill them," Harley countered.

"I didn't kill Floyd," he stated calmly, walking around her slowly.

"Well he wouldn't 'a killed himself if you hadn't told him to. Or if one 'a you woulda just told me about it!" She watched him. "Yes I woulda stopped it. Why did he hafta die?"

"I simply told him that he would have to ensure your escape by any means necessary. I didn't tell him to die. I told him any means necessary. If _he_ considered that the means, who am I to judge the actions of a dead man?" he laughed by her ear, walking in front of her again.

"You wanted him dead." She glared at him. "Just like you wanted Dent and Ivy."

"They were traitors. Deadshot died a hero," Joker commented, walking away. He picked up his radio on the table and flicked it on.

"How do I know another thing you're keeping from me is that you want me dead too?" she challenged.

"Quite right, my dear," he laughed, tossing the radio in the air and catching it as a signal came in. Joker stopped and grinned.

"Catwoman- _Selina_ \- anyone- Father's been hurt, I need immediate backup- _help-_ " Robin's voice came over the static, and Joker grinned.

"I'm surprised, old friend, no doubt you hid it from them until you passed out from blood loss," he muttered quietly, still chuckling to himself.

"Who? Red Robin?" Harley stepped toward the radio curiously. She wanted to know what had happened to him.

"Batman," he glanced at her, and then looked up again. "Red Robin? What did you do, you naughty girl?" he laughed, walking towards her.

"Deadshot wounded him then let a zombie loose on him." She glanced at the radio again. "What happened to B-man?"

"I told you. People _die_ ," he laughed cruelly. "So fragile."

"You killed Batman?" she gasped in disbelief.

"I'd go with 'maimed'," he grinned, tossing the radio down again. "I don't know if he'll die or not. With my luck, he won't."

"You really did it." She giggled and hugged him. "Does that mean if he dies, your plans over?"

"I suppose so, Doll," he picked her up and spun her around. "Happily ever after."

* * *

"Where is he?!" Selina demanded as she burst through the medical bay doors. Dick was only a few feet behind her. She spotted Damian. "What happened? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Selina _stop._ " Damian stood in front of her. He was taller than her now, and almost as broad as Bruce. "You can't see him."

"Why not? What's wrong?" She tried to move past him. "I need to see him."

"He told me not to let you." Damian's jaw was set.

"What?" She froze. "Why? Why won't you tell me anything?"

"It's bad, Selina," he said quietly.

"How bad?" she breathed, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"We don't know yet," he sighed.

"He's... He's gonna be okay... right?"

Damian didn't say a word as he turned and walked back the way he'd come. Dick wrapped his arms around Selina gently and pulled her close.

"He'll be fine," he assured her. Selina clung to his chest, breathing shakily. If he didn't make it...

 _I won't be able to control myself,_ she thought in terror. "I need Jason," she whispered, looking at Dick. He blinked in surprise.

"Alright, just... Breathe. It'll be ok,"he assured her again as he stepped away from her, pacing down the hall. "Red Hood; what's your location?" He asked. "Selina wants you, and I'm pretty sure it's urgent."

"I'm on my way. But look, Dick, Downtown is a mess right now you have to go help the Commissioner," he responded. Dick but his lip and then nodded. "Alright, I'll head there. You come join Selina."

"Ok," was all his response was, and then Dick returned to Selina.

"Jason will be here soon. Wait outside. It's going to be all right," Dick put a hand on her shoulder and smiled briefly before walking away again. He assessed his team. Based on everyone's distribution, he only had Cassandra, Kate, and Stephanie to work with. "Blackbat, Batwoman, Spoiler," he sent out the call, mentally cataloging everyone's locations as he got into the elevator.

 _Bruce injured, Jason, Tim and Damian assisting, Selina on break, Barbara assisting..._

"Yes commander?" Stephanie quipped, hiding her worry. Dick thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Batman's been severely injured. We need to work redistribution and fast- get this Infected problem under control. That said... Batwoman with me, we need to get the rest of the infected away from civilians ASAP, and help the GCPD placate the population."

"Heading out," she agreed. "Meet you at the station."

"Blackbat take Arkham. you can handle it on your own?"

"Yes," came her quiet reply.

"And Spoiler, hit the showers."

"I'm going to go see if Red Robin needs any help in the tower," she corrected, ignoring his order. She hadn't heard from Tim since everything had started.

"Alright do what you want, just get some rest," he nodded, walking past Jason on his way out of the tower. "She's on the medical floor," he told him, walking out. Jason nodded as he stepped into the elevator. He hesitated for a second and decided to make a quick stop before seeing Selina. When he finally made it to the medical floor, he gestured for Ivy to step out before him. Selina saw her and burst into tears, running over and throwing her arms around Ivy's neck.

"Whoa Selina." Ivy wrapped her arms around her. "It's going to be okay."

"He started-" she was cut off when Bruce screamed somewhere in the maze of cubicles, and Selina burst into a fresh round of tears. "They won't let me see him..."

"Of course not," Ivy said firmly. "Because he's going to be fine. You don't need to see him like this." She gestured at Jason to go check on Bruce, and he walked away behind Selina's back.

Jason ran into Damian coming out of Bruce's cubicle.

"Jason," he said in surprise, and then steered him back a few feet before stopping. Robin took his mask off. "He's… they're stabilizing him. After two rounds of sedatives that didn't work, they finally upped the dose and put him under- it's better than it was before," he commented.

"He's flatlining again!" someone shouted out to Damian from the cubicle. He swiftly put his mask back on and rushed back in with Jason on his heels; Bruce lay on his back on a cot, several of the medical staff working around him to try to revive him. His armor had been torn off and his chest was bare, multiple stab wounds in his side; really, anywhere there was a weak spot in his armor. Anywhere the Joker could get at. His face was banged up and his upper arm was braced, his shoulder bandaged.

"The Joker attacked him and then shoved him off of a building," Damian said quietly. He and Jason stood back, out of the medics ways. He stared at his father. "Come on, damn you," he muttered.

"Damn." Jason took a deep breath. "We need to get Selina off of this floor. If she sees this, she's going to lose it." He wanted to lose it.

"I know. Tell Ivy to get her out of here," he muttered quietly. When Jason looked at him, he looked shockingly like his father. His mask hid cold, calculating, devoid of emotion eyes.

"Keep us updated." Jason gave him what he hoped was a reassuring pat on the shoulder before heading back out to Ivy and Selina. He gave Ivy a meaningful look before tapping Selina gently. "Hey, how you holding up?"

"I have to control it," she whimpered.

"No you don't," he assured her. "In this instance you are completely justified in losing it."

"You told me I couldn't," she looked up at him, letting go of Ivy and moving to wrap her arms around Jason's neck like a child moving from parent to parent. Selina buried her face in his shoulder and stifled a sob.

"Everyone breaks down sometimes." He patted her somewhat awkwardly and looked at Ivy for help.

"Don't look at me." She shrugged. "Plants hate saltwater."

"Sorry," Selina backed away from him.

"You're fine. We're just… built up sexual tension?" he offered and shrugged while Ivy snorted and smiled. "But come on," he led Selina to the elevator, "let's get you somewhere that doesn't feel like a hospital."

"That doesn't narrow it down any," Selina commented, wrapping her arms around herself. "He's going to be ok, right?"

"Would he dare die on you?" Jason challenged. "Let's get you back to your room, and Damian will keep us updated, okay?"

"Sure," Selina sighed dejectedly.

"Hey, don't you sure me," he warned her.

"Red Hood," Damian snapped into the comms. "He's stabilizing but where the _hell_ is Drake, I've called him four times now."

"Spoiler went looking for him. I'm sure they're just-"

"-Oh my God," Steph's comm crackled to life over theirs. "No. You can't," she sobbed. "Someone please. Anyone."

"Location," Jason demanded. _What now?!_

"He's in the labs." Jason immediately pounded the button on the elevator. "I can't get to him. Please."

"Spoiler what the hell happened?! He's not... Is he...?" Robin's voice trailed off.

Red Robin had gotten away from the Infected, trapping himself in the glass observation cage at the far end of the labs. The zombie had still been roaming around the labs, but Steph had taken care of it when she'd come in; she'd fallen to her knees outside of the observation cage where Red Robin was leaning against the glass, trapped on the other side. His ring finger and pinky were missing, and clawed gashes were raked down his arm.

"Tim." She sniffled as she cried, knocking on the glass. "Tim please. Please no." His face was angled where he sat with his back against the glass door, his head bent back at an awkward angle as if he was still trying to look for help that wouldn't come in time. The elevator opened, and Jason, Selina, and Ivy spilled out. They surveyed the scene, and Jason stepped forward.

"Steph," he said hesitantly. "You need to back away."

"No," she snapped, swatting him away. "I'm not leaving him." Jason looked back at Selina and Ivy for help.

"Stephanie, come on," Selina said gently, swallowing her own tears as she held her hands out to her. "It's… it's too late, sweetie," she choked.

"No!" she sobbed. "It can't be too late." She fell against Selina and cried into her shoulder. Jason took his gun out and quickly exchanged the tranq darts for real bullets. He glanced at Ivy before he shot the lock on the observation room. He went in and shut the door behind him again. He took a deep breath as he squatted down in front of Tim. There was severe blood loss, but it was already clotting, and he was already unconscious. When Tim woke up, he wouldn't be Tim anymore. Jason looked down at his gun as he sighed. He froze.

"Batgirl," he commed, as he nudged Tim's leg aside. "What the hell is Sample 377?" He picked up the empty vial and glanced at Tim. "And please tell me it's a good thing."

"It was our latest attempt for a cure, we were supposed to start actual testing tomorrow," Barbara responded, sniffing back her tears. Her voice was thick. "We weren't getting anywhere, but the round before it wasn't very great, it only seemed to accelerate the turn."

There was a cracking noise as Tim's head snapped forward, white eyes fixed on Jason. He jumped backwards with a yelp.

"So not good," he muttered.

"Well we don't know if this new sample does yet. Why?" Barbara asked. Tim rocked forward a bit, sitting up. Selina glanced through the glass and did a double take, screaming as she held on to Steph. Tim's body tensed, his head cocking as the vacant eyes remained fixed on Jason.

"Well," Jason backed up, "I'm facing your first test subject. Congratulations. It's a zombie."

"What are you talking about? You don't mean…?"

Tim was on his feet in a second, taking a hesitant step towards him.

"Oh I do mean," Jason assured her. "So any advice? His girlfriend is watching, and I may joke that I hate the guy, but that doesn't mean I want to put a bullet between his eyes."

"Tranq him," Barbara instructed, thinking fast. "If there's any hope of saving him, we'll need to clean him up, dress his wounds, and try to hold him together. I'll be right down."

Tim growled a bit, taking another step towards Jason. Any moment now he could burst towards him in a flash of speed. Jason leveled his gun at him before he remembered live rounds were loaded.

"Shit," he swore, quickly changing the ammo. Tim lunged at him, teeth bared, knocking him down as he tried to bite him.

"Jason!" Barbara shouted as she ran across the labs. "Don't hurt him!"

"I don't think anyone told him that rule!" Jason called back, trying to fend off Tim's teeth. Barbara ran past Selina and Ivy trying to comfort Steph, and she grabbed Tim's cape, yanking him back off of Jason. Tim whirled on her with a snarl and Barbara's eyes widened in terror.

"Jason," she gasped, pinning herself against the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Jason scrambled back to his feet. "Hey swan queen!" The tranq dart hit Tim in the forehead, and Jason dropped his hands to his knees as he panted. Tim dropped to the floor, his white eyes closing. Barbara gasped, kneeling beside him.

"How could this happen?" she breathed.

"I couldn't get my ammo switched fast enough." He expected Barbara's glare. "Don't look at me. I have no idea."

"Surveillance footage? Anything? How did it get out?!" she cried, pulling Tim's mask away from his face.

"The zombie cage lock was destroyed. Most likely a bullet. And there's no way one Infected took out the glass in the lab like that. A team probably ransacked down here too..." He trailed off when Steph passed him. Barbara glanced up at her.

"Stephanie, I... Maybe you shouldn't see this," she said quietly.

"He… he can't be." She sniffled. "Please tell me he's going to be okay. He has to be okay."

Barbara watched her before standing slowly and hugging her tight. "I'll do everything I can," she assured her. "We'll get Tim back."


	29. The One With The Aftermath

"Talk to me."

Dick sat up in bed. Despite his rest, his eyes were tired, and he blinked them a few times to dispel the sleep. His communicator was already in his ear, his mask on the floor beside his bed.

"Batwoman, heading to Arkham from supply. I'll wait for you by the bridge, boss." Kate answered immediately. The sun hadn't risen yet, but they'd gotten into the habit of preparing for shift change early.

"I'm coming off of city patrol now, with Catwoman," Jason responded.

"Good. Catwoman, come in for rest. Red Hood, you're on Supply." Dick stood and tugged his now clean uniform off of the shower curtain rod where it had dried overnight. As he listened, he began to get dressed. "Robin?"

"Finishing Arkham with Blackbat. On my way out of Uptown." He responded solemnly.

"You two are now on city." Dick pulled his belt on. His hand brushed the bandaging on his side as he winced.

"And I'll head to the labs," Stephanie answered over the comms.

"Steph what? No- Spoiler-" Dick sighed slowly in the dark. "You don't have to do this."

"I do," she answered. Her voice was thick, but she was holding it together. Dick weighed his options.

"Alright. I trust your judgement."

The comms went silent.

"Well that's shift change done," Barbara responded behind him from the bed. Dick turned.

"You watch her," he warned. "It's been three days since Tim turned and Steph... She's still not one-hundred percent. Who could expect her to be?"

"Relax, _mom_ , I love her as much as you do," she smiled, watching him. Her red hair was in a messy ponytail over her shoulder, her cheeks still flushed with sleep under light freckles. "You look exhausted, especially for a guy who did nothing but sleep last night," Barbara commented. Dick smiled a little, walking towards the bed. He bent down to pick up his mask, a hand on the mattress.

"Make sure the observation cage is completely sanitized and clean, and make sure he's... Make sure Tim is comfortable. Let's try to decelerate his decomposition." He cleared his throat. "Keep him... alive."

"You say that like we haven't been struggling to do that for over a year now," Barbara sighed.

"You know he's a special case," Dick looked at her pointedly.

"Of course I know." She sat up and stretched. "I'm doing everything I can."

"Keep up the good work, Batgirl," he smiled gently. Dick holstered his gun and started for the door.

"You don't have to try so hard to be Bruce," she told him.

"Actually I do," he said, for the first time sounding stretched to a breaking point. "If I don't, everything we've gained will fall apart."

"No it won't." She stood up and walked over to him. "You've taken up the role of Batman before and done just fine." She put a hand on his cheek. "Just be you."

"I'm trying," Dick sighed, putting his hand over hers on his cheek. "Thanks, Babs," he smiled.

"Everything's going to be fine." She pulled him close and hugged him. Dick sighed quietly, even though he knew it wasn't entirely true, what she'd said. He held her tight for a while and then smiled when he pulled back.

"I've got to get going. See you when I get back." He kissed her cheek and walked to the door.

"I'm heading out to Arkham." He said into the comm with a glance at Barbara before he left. "I'm going to check on Bruce, first," he added, and then made his way down to the medical floor.

Bruce had been moved to a new cubicle, the medical staff taking care of him as best they could. When Dick arrived, Selina was already there by his head. He stopped.

"How's he doing?" Dick asked with a small smile. Selina glanced up at him and returned the gesture before looking down.

"He's better."

Dick watched her. "Good," he cleared his throat, and then put a hand on Selina's shoulder. "Get some rest."

Selina glanced over her shoulder as Dick left the small cubicle. "He's doing good in your shoes," Selina said quietly. "You'd be proud. They're all so incredibly skilled, your babies," she laughed a little. "I miss you already, you know. It's only been three days, and I... I have to hold it together, because you're not here. You said you'd be here," she whispered. "I'm doing ok, but you... You said you'd never leave me." She stared at his solemn face, his eyes closed, his lips pale. The blankets were smooth and white over his body, as if waiting to be pulled over his face. Selina reached forward and tugged them uneven resentfully. He continued to breathe steadily, his face practically blank as he slept. Every now and then his eyes would twitch beneath the lid, but he hadn't shown any sign of waking up in days. Selina sighed quietly. "Do you mind if I sleep here? I don't feel safe when I'm alone in our penthouse. Not anymore," she chuckled, and then crawled onto the cot beside him. There wasn't much room, but Selina was thin as a rail, tucked between his arm and his side. As she was closing her eyes, he shifted a bit. Selina froze.

Bruce groaned, lifting a hand out from under the sheets to rub his eyes.

"Bruce?" Selina cried, falling off of the cot. She landed on her back, sitting up and looking at him. "Bruce are you...?!"

"What?" He blinked his eyes open. He'd been just about to fall back asleep. Selina scrambled to her feet and grabbed his face, shaking him.

"No no no, don't you _dare_ go back to sleep-" she gripped his face, looking him in the eyes. "Bruce stay awake- please-"

"What?" His eyes widened. "What."

"You've been unconscious for three days," she breathed, and then grabbed his face tighter as she kissed him desperately. "Asleep for... Three days... You asshole," she cried, hitting his chest. She covered her mouth when he groaned in pain. "I'm sorry- sorry-" Selina sat back on her heels, covering her face.

"Three days?" he demanded and sat up a little before the pain made him lie back again. "Damn it."

"Yeah, you bastard," she snapped, looking up at him. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"

"More than you should have been," he guessed and coughed. "What's happened? How are you? Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone's... No. Tim, he... he's Infected," she breathed, staring up at him. "What the hell _happened_ out there, Batman?"

"He _what_?" Bruce sat up. "Tim is what?"

"A third party attacked the labs, and Tim got scratched," she looked down. "He's quarantined in the Lab observation area. Fully turned." Bruce stared at her.

"I need to go see him." He stood up and grabbed the cot to keep from falling over.

"Sit. Down." Selina stood angrily. "Are you trying to kill yourself again?!" She shouted. Selina pushed him down to the cot. "Lay down, damn it."

"I need to see him." He grit his teeth against the pain, surprised he was too weak to fend Selina off. "He's my son."

"I know. And he was one of the closest I'll ever come to a son, just like the rest of them, who are working their asses off trying to keep together what you've made- Bruce what the hell _happened_ to you?!" She snapped. "How could you- what happened out there?"

"I... I don't remember. The Joker he- got the jump on me, and I... I don't know." Bruce looked down at the knife wounds over his torso.

"Please. You- you just-" Selina glared down at him. "You didn't call for help, you didn't call it in when you were hurt- you pigheaded son of a bitch! You told me you'd always be here, and you weren't! You weren't here for me, and you weren't here for Tim, all because of your stupid, selfish, stubbornness," Selina fumed. "You didn't call for help, and you won't talk to me, and you won't let me help you. Damn it, Bruce." She looked down. "You are incredible. And so stupid. That was _stupid,_ Bruce Wayne. You're supposed to be brilliant; did you even think?!"

"I thought I needed to protect my family. The Joker was attacking, and I was going to do everything to stop him from hurting someone I love." He leaned his head back against his pillow. He closed his eyes as he tried not to grimace in pain; he _had_ failed to protect the people he loved.

"Yeah, well, you failed to remember that you're someone that we love," Selina snapped. "Hey." She grabbed his face. "Look at me, damn it. We love you, don't you get that? You don't get to kill yourself if I don't." There was so much anger and passion and worry and love in her eyes, and Bruce couldn't remember when he'd last seen her this impassioned. This far from sadness. She was furious.

"I wasn't trying to-" he cut off as he sat up, his breath hissing between his teeth. "I wasn't trying to kill myself." He brushed her hair out of her face. "I promised I'd always be here, and I meant that. And I know I screwed up and left you alone, but I'm still here. And I will always be here."

"You lie through your teeth, like always," she stared down at him. She knew that he was in pain, and she hated herself for enjoying it. She wanted to break down crying because she'd missed him so much, but he forced her for half a week to act tough, and she wasn't about to stop just because he was back. In all truth, she hadn't felt this strong in months. "I'm going to get you a wheelchair, and you can go see Tim. But I warn you, you probably don't want to." She left the cubicle and returned with a nurse and an old wheelchair, stopping it by his bed. When the nurse tried to help him, she stopped her. "No no, let him do it himself. He always has to do things by himself," Selina crossed her arms, glaring at Bruce.

"But... he was in a coma," the nurse objected. "He should be resting; he just woke…" She trailed off and cleared her throat at the look on Selina's face. Bruce clenched his jaw and stood up, nearly falling right back over. He grabbed the arm of the wheelchair and sank into it gratefully. "We should really be giving him medical attention," the nurse added feebly.

"Ask him if he wants it. Go on, ask him," Selina's lip quivered. She was barely holding it together, she'd missed him so much, but if he wanted to see Tim, that's what they were going to do. They both looked at Bruce.

"I need to see him."

"What did I tell you?" Selina's voice cracked, and she yanked his chair out of the cubicle. She pushed him down the hall and onto the elevator and pressed the button, leaning against the wall as she covered her mouth.

"I'm sorry Selina," he sighed, looking up at her. Selina waved her hand dismissively and then covered her mouth again.

"I don't care," she whimpered. "I don't..."

"Yes you do." He tried to maneuver the wheelchair over to her but gave up. "I'm sorry."

"I missed you," she whimpered, kneeling in front of the wheelchair. Selina dropped her head in his lap, sniffing sadly. She sat up again and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry sweetheart. I was just so worried about you."

"I know." Bruce lifted her up and set her on his lap. "I am so, so sorry Selina. I shouldn't have done that to you." He stroked her hair. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about me, Bruce," she stroked his cheek. Selina kissed him gently, cupping his face. Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, you- your mask! Your mask, Bruce," she stroked his face. "We can't..." The elevator doors opened. He groaned.

"You took my mask off." He could see the labs down the hall. "Come on," he sighed. "The entire medical staff has probably seen me already anyway."

"Bruce-" she shyly walked forward with her hand in his, helping him push his wheelchair as he pushed with one hand. Selina keyed them into the labs, blushing as she bit her nail.

"Hey," he grabbed her hand and pulled her down to his level, "it's okay. We've pretty well established everything is my fault," he whispered.

"No. I mean," she giggled a little. "I'm used to people knowing Batman is married to Catwoman, I'm not used to people knowing that Bruce Wayne is... married to me. Boring, messy, worthless nightwalker Selina Kyle. And you've gotta remember that people think you're dead," she hissed back. She tucked a hair behind her ear.

"Excuse me. Bruce Wayne is _happily_ married to interesting, beautiful hero Selina Kyle. And I think people would be a bit more upset if they thought Batman was dead instead of Bruce."

"You weren't on the streets when word got around that you died." Selina walked behind him. People _were_ staring. Bruce wore only a pair of cotton sweatpants, his torso bandaged. Selina pushed him forward and Barbara came towards him as they approached the observation cage.

"Hi- um, Batman," she smoothed her hair over her shoulder. "We're trying to keep him comfortable." She said quietly.

Tim was shuffling back and forth along the glass in a white v-neck and pants. His mouth hung open, and his glossy eyes were vacant. Steph was standing in front of the glass and turned when Selina pushed the wheelchair up beside her. She jumped at the sight of Bruce.

"Whoa. Since when were you... I guess it doesn't matter." She looked back at Tim.

"Spoiler," Bruce said quietly. TJ walked by and froze as he stared at Bruce.

"Oh my God," he said. "Is that-"

"-Not the time," Barbara muttered, pushing TJ along.

"He's doing ok," Selina knelt beside Bruce's chair, wrapping her hands around his arm.

"How did this happen?" He stared at Tim, his jaw set. Barbara walked back to them.

"A third party attacked the lab and stole some of the medical supplies. The Infected got out of the cage, and he got scratched," Barbara said quietly. "I'm sorry, I just..." She sighed, wiping her eyes. "We keep him fed, and keep him, um... We're trying to keep him held together."

"I should have been here." Bruce clenched his fist. He was so tense he was in danger of popping his stitches.

"Bruce it's ok," Selina grabbed his fist clenching on the arm of the wheelchair. She smoothed his hand out and laced her fingers with his. "It'll be ok, they're working on it."

"I thought you said you were sick of lies."

Selina glanced at him and then looked down. "Just breathe, darling," she whispered, wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose but winced and set his arm back on the wheelchair armrest.

"Don't worry," Steph told him. Her Spoiler mask was pulled down around her neck and there were dark circles under her eyes. "If you were his girlfriend, they'd let you be a bitch. They've been putting up with me for days."

"Steph," Barbara said quietly, rubbing her arm and hugging her gently. Selina looked up at Bruce, watching him solemnly.

"We'll be ok," she whispered.

Tim slammed against the glass, hissing, his fingers clawing at the air holes, his eyes fixed on Bruce.

"I can't." Steph stepped back and shrugged Barbara's arm off. "I can't do this." She couldn't stare into Tim's blank eyes desperate to see some emotion. She backed away. "I'm really happy you're awake Bruce, her voice cracked, "but I can't be here." She fled from the room. Barbara glanced down at Bruce and then pursed her lips.

"We found this in his pocket," she said quietly. She handed him a small gold band engagement ring with a purple gemstone and diamond setting. "I haven't told Stephanie yet... I don't... I don't know if we should." Bruce clutched the ring in his hand, staring at Tim.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you that getting him better is top priority."

"Of course," she said in resignation.

"This should never have happened." Tim snarled at them. Bruce watched him a while longer before turning back to Barbara and Selina. "I'm assuming Nightwing took over patrol rotations while I was... asleep. Update him and let him know I'll rejoin the rotation as soon as I can." Some of his wounds had started to bleed through the bandages. "Catwoman, you probably shouldn't be on patrol today." He looked at Selina who looked like she hadn't slept since he'd been injured. "And I've probably distracted the lab enough for one day." Scientists were still staring at him and whispering behind their hands. "Keep me updated on any changes with him."

"We can do that. And we need to... Figure out how to… properly feed him." Barbara cleared her throat. "Go get some rest," she added as TJ pulled her away. Selina wheeled Bruce's chair back out of the labs, and she was silent until they got onto the elevator.

"Dick is doing really well, by the way. He's doing good."

"I don't doubt it." He leaned back in the wheelchair, exhausted. "How have you been doing?"

"Fine," she sniffed, crossing her arms. The elevator doors closed, but she didn't press a button. "I've been doing... Well I had to do better. If I killed myself you never would forgive yourself, and as much as you'd love to have another excuse to hate yourself, I just couldn't give you that."

"Good." The knife wounds burned, and he was starting to feel feverish. "I'd rather have you here and mad at me. I'd take that any day over you being gone."

Selina pressed the button for the medical floor and the elevator rose steadily. She sighed quietly. "What the hell were you thinking?" she asked, looking at him evenly. Her jaw was tight so her lips wouldn't quiver. Bruce sighed.

"I'm sorry. I know how much that hurt you."

"Do you? Always preaching the 'no kamikaze warfare' speech. You should take your own advice sometime." Selina touched his shoulder, rubbing it gently. Her fingers brushed his neck, and she looked down at him. "Don't ever scare me like that again, Bruce Wayne." He caught her hand.

"I promise." He kissed the back of her hand. Selina ran her hand through his hair as the elevator doors opened.

"Come on," she sighed. "Let's get you back to bed before you keel over."

"That might be a little hard in a wheelchair," he defended. He knew he should rest, but he didn't feel like he could bear sitting still. Tim was hurt, and he should be doing everything he could to help him. The Joker had attacked three whole days ago, and he hadn't been around to oversee any of the damage. But he knew Selina was right, he would keel over and he couldn't do that to her. Her lips turned up in a small, sad smile as she watched him, one hand absently playing with the hair at the back of his neck. She pushed him down the hallways and back to his cubicle, where she helped Bruce sit down and then lay back in the makeshift hospital bed. Tugging the covers up around his shoulders, Selina smiled.

"Feel better lying down?" she asked softly, her voice like velvet as she sat on the edge of the cot. Her fingers traced over the three-day stubble beard on his jaw, her lips parting ever so slightly. He reached up and caught her hand.

"You can stop worrying," he told her gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Yeah, well, that's what I thought yesterday, until you flatlined for no reason," she squeezed his hand almost painfully tight, her eyes misting a bit. Selina took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Bruce was about to answer, but she turned her head away as she listened to her comm.

"Nightwing, checking in," Dick said. "Just making sure everyone is out and moving."

"Yeah, East half of Uptown seems to be ok," Batwoman commed in. "I'm halfway done with my routes."

"Cassandra and I are handling a few domestic issues in Downtown, but it's a good day so far," Damian answered.

"And Supply is running smoothly. We're pushing the thirty mile bubble, though," Jason reported.

"Labs are good, too," Barbara checked in.

"And Bruce is awake," Selina said quietly, and there were exclamations of relief and happiness from the other lines. Dick smiled to himself.

"Alright. Good work, everyone, let's get through today smoothly." He muted his comm again, sighing as he looked up at the clear sky. The summer air was hot and humid, and he'd abandoned his jacket at the tower. Harley still had the top from his Nightwing suit, so he'd downgraded to a fitted gray and blue athletic t-shirt; the breathable fabric made the heat a little more bearable, but he still paused to tug his gloves off and tie his hair up in a messy bun before pulling them on again.

He couldn't help thinking about Harley. It'd been four days since he saw her last, and he'd known that he wouldn't see her on this patrol shift, but he hadn't known just how much that'd hurt. Dick took a deep breath and leapt off of the edge of the building, enjoying the free fall for a moment before firing a grappling hook to break it. His boots landed on the pavement and he stumbled a bit, catching himself on a lamppost. He sighed again and pressed his comm.

"Batgirl, feed two," he instructed. It was a code they used to use; a 'get off of the main line so we can chat' sort of thing. When they were younger it was more dirty talk than chat, but now it was never more than relaxed conversation. Dick would be kidding himself if he said he didn't miss the former. "You on?" he asked, switching the line.

"Yeah, what's up?" She was back at her desk and surrounded by paperwork.

"Not much," he hesitated, smiling to himself as he started walking back down the street. "I miss you." Barbara laughed.

"Well you know where to find me when you get the chance."

"I know," Dick smiled again. Talking to Barbara was easy, and he'd missed it. It took his mind off of Harley. "Listen. About… before. I never actually apologized to you for acting the way I did," Dick rubbed the back of his neck and kicked an empty beer can down the street. "You guys were right. I should have listened."

"Oh so are you ready to talk about it now?" She leaned her elbows on her desk and chewed on the end of a pen as she smiled.

"What is there to talk about?" Dick chuckled a little, and he winced, the action causing a pain in the stab wound in his side.

"Well... you told me you fell in love with her. And she left you. For the Joker." She shrugged. "That sounds like something to talk about to me."

"Yeah but it didn't work out. I never thought it would, deep down," he sighed. "I think. I don't know." Dick glanced over his shoulder, feeling watched.

"That doesn't mean you don't want it to work out." Barbara stood up and walked across the lab to check on the most recent sample she was running.

"I don't know if I do," he admitted. "Is it more trouble than it's worth? Am I terrible for saying that?"

"No." She checked to see how far along the tests were. They were some of the initial tests of Tim's blood. "She's Harley Quinn. It'd be more trouble trying to continue a relationship with her. And..." she paused, "she's the one who's... crazy and- and the one using you to cheat and... She's the terrible one, not you."

"You're an angel, Babs, you know that, right? Talking to me about this? I know it probably hurts, but I'm so... Grateful for it." Dick stopped walking, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "You're the only one I can trust."

He again felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and spun around. He couldn't help but wonder if it was Harley, but it was probably something worse. Dick quickened his pace.

"It's okay. I-I just didn't want her to hurt you." Barbara carried the test results back to her desk.

"I know," he responded, and then stopped. Dick flipped out of the way as an Infected nearly tackled him from behind, snarling. "Shit," he swore. "These silent ones really sneak up on you."

"Dick," she froze, "be careful."

"I'll be fine," he assured her. Turning to face the zombie, he drew his tranq gun. It was a gruesome one, falling apart at several joints. A thick paste dripped from its decaying teeth. "Hey Babs, did you ever see _The Mummy_?" Dick flipped away again as the thing lunged, but he was too slow; it caught his leg and dragged him back. "Ow! Shit-"

"Do not get yourself killed," she warned him.

"Come on, Babs, like I'd do that to you?" He laughed, but it sounded forced as he kicked the zombie away. Dick scrambled to his feet and started running away, clumsily loading live rounds into his gun.

"I've talked to you on enough patrols, Nightwing, to know when you're bluffing." She looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to her as she walked the rest of the way to her desk. Dick laughed and then cried out when another one rushed him from around the corner.

"Oh for fucks sake-" Dick skidded to a stop and slid on the rocky pavement, falling as he fired a shot at its face. Blood splattered across his torso, and he cried out in disgust. The zombie that had been chasing him before tackled him.

"If you turn into a zombie, I'm going to have an emotional breakdown."

"Barbara it'll be ok. And I'd rather turn into a zombie getting bitten by you than a random stranger, if you catch my drift," he joked, struggling to push the zombie off. It was heavy, and practically laying on him.

"If you turn into a zombie, you won't get to enjoy it for long." She glanced around her desk to make sure no one was in earshot. "If you catch my drift."

"Well then we'll make sure you finish first." Dick turned his head away as he pressed the gun to the zombie's head. Barbara could practically hear the splatter over the comms. Dick dropped his head back against the pavement, panting, unable to see through the thick, clotted blood covering his mask. "I'm going to throw up," he choked, shoving the overweight zombie off of him.

"Ew," Barbara whined, "that's so gross. I feel bad from here."

"Ugh it's everywhere," Dick groaned. "God, it's in my mouth..." He hastily wiped the sticky black paste away from his lips, gagging.

"Spit it out," she ordered. "You know that could contaminate you." She tapped her pen nervously on her desk as she listened to her comm.

"Yeah, I know, I'm working on it," he spat out as much as he could, but he could still taste it. "I need to get this off of me, I'm going to shower," he shuddered, looking down at the splatters over his chest. Dick switched comm feeds. "Batwoman, cover me for a bit. I need to do some decontamination here, that last kill was a messy one."

"Roger that, boss," she responded, and Dick switched the comm feed back to Barbara.

"Let me know if you start experiencing any symptoms of you changing. So I can come kick your ass for getting Infected," Barbara told him.

"I would go with 'so we can get you a transfusion and save your ass', that one would be a little better." Dick winced, making his way to he and Harley's makeshift apartment. He didn't know if it was such a great idea that he go there, after last time, but he grappled up anyway.

"That part was implied," Barbara laughed. Dick walked into the dark apartment, pulling his shirt off.

"I should let you get back to work," he sighed, stripping down and getting in the shower.

"Yeah," she sat up straight, "I should go talk to TJ anyway. He's helping me run Tim's blood samples."

"Good, good." Dick paused thoughtfully. "So you and this TJ guy, eh? Is it... Are you guys...?" Dick and Barbara weren't officially together. In fact, they weren't anything. It was complicated. They talked all the time, and slept in the same bed, but that was more for comfort and security than anything. _It's complicated,_ he thought again.

"Coworkers? Colleagues? Friends?" She laughed. "Where are you going with that question?"

"Is there anything going on there?" He cleared his throat. "Never mind..."

"No there's nothing going on there." She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it. "I wasn't the one seeing other people."

"Yeah yeah. Talk to you in a bit, Batgirl." He pressed his comm to switch the feed back to the main, and then muted it. Dick leaned back against the wall sighing slowly, letting the hot water run over his chest. He couldn't help thinking about Harley standing here with him, and he closed his eyes; her presence was all over this place in memories. Pleasant and heated ones, he'd begrudgingly admit. _She's the one who broke it off,_ Dick scolded himself, but he couldn't help picturing her handprints smudged on the steamy glass of the shower; her laughter and her ragged breath mixing with the sound of the water hitting their bare bodies. "Stop it," Dick snapped under his breath, turning the tap cold.

* * *

Harley grappled up onto the balcony. She frowned to herself as she retracted the cording into the grappling gun. This place reminded her too much of Dick and what they'd shared, and she felt bad enough about having to sneak away from Joker to come here, but she wanted to return the Nightwing shirt. She didn't want any reminders of Dick. Stepping reluctantly into the bedroom, she looked around at the mess they'd left the last time they'd been here. Liquor bottles were everywhere. Dick clearly hadn't returned, she was relieved to see.

But then she heard the shower running. She froze in panic. He was here, he was actually here. He hummed quietly for a moment, trying to scrub the blood away from his face. Harley could see the reflection of him in the shower through the open bathroom door.

She glanced back out the door. She could leave and he'd never even know she'd been here, or... she looked back at Dick. She could talk to him, explain why she couldn't see him. Harley physically shook her head and stepped away from the bathroom. She shouldn't, _couldn't_ see him. And he'd still lied to her. She looked back around at the bedroom. She wanted to be rid of every part of their relationship. To pretend it never happened.

Dick reached out of the shower, his hand groping for a towel on the counter. He dried his face and glanced up, catching sight of Harley in the mirror. He froze, watching her, the towel still over his mouth. She'd heard the shower turn off, so she quickly set his shirt down on the bed but then she hesitated. She bit the inside of her cheek before stepping back. She glanced one last time over her shoulder and saw Dick watching her. She froze and blushed. Her eyes stared at his through the mirror. Quickly turning away, she hurried toward the balcony, nearly running into the desk.

"Harley, wait!" Dick cried, hurrying after her as he wrapped the towel around his waist. He reached the bed as she made it to the balcony doors. She kept her head down as she pushed them open and stepped out. She fumbled with the grappling hook and dropped it, making a frustrated noise.

"Sweet sassafras," she muttered. "What?" She turned toward him.

"I... Um." Dick cleared his throat. "W-what are you doing here?" he asked lamely.

"I was returning your shirt," she said stiffly. "Goodbye." She picked up the grappling gun and aimed it.

"Harley wait- I just- can't we talk?" he begged, rushing to stop her. Dick caught her arm. "Please?"

"About what?" she demanded, yanking her arm out of his grasp. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," Dick swallowed hard, stepping back. "Sorry. I just- sorry," he breathed, dropping his hand by his waist.

"Yeah, me too." The water beading on his exposed chest was distracting, so she stepped back and turned away. "Can I leave now?"

"Sure," he breathed, waving a hand. He ran a hand through his wet hair, shaking his head, and walking back towards the bathroom. Harley hesitated. She wished she hadn't come. This goodbye was so much worse; it would've been easier if they hadn't seen each other again. She was going to look back at him but stopped herself. She didn't have time. She needed to get back to Arkham, back to the Joker. She aimed the grappling hook again and fired.

"Goodbye," Dick said quietly, looking over his shoulder to watch her go. She stumbled when she landed but retracted the cording and kept walking. She shouldn't have come.

Harley picked up her pace to a jog, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. It was easier to pretend it had never happened, that there was only the Joker. Dick had already gotten what he wanted from her anyway: he didn't need her anymore. She slowed her pace once she made it to the Arkham wall.

 _"I love you."_ Harley ground her teeth together, ignoring everyone she passed. That lie had hurt the most. She had no one but the Joker left, and it would have been nice if he'd actually cared about her.

She was lost in thought the whole way to the tower and barely noticed the elevator ride to the top. When it jerked to a stop at the top floor, she refocused and looked around. "Puddin?" she called.

"Office, working," he called, before his office door slammed shut. Harley bit her lip before walking over. She knocked on his door.

"Is it anything I can help with?" she asked hopefully.

"No!" Came his reply.

"Should I go see if Crane needs anything then?"

"Actually-" Joker came out of his office, watching her. "If you'd like to help, you could?"

"Um, okay." Harley was taken aback. "What are we working on?" She skipped into his office. "Getting food for the people? A raid on Gotham?"

"Food. Food is good. Oh! I know, you can run food distribution tonight for me? It will take a weight off of my shoulders," he contemplated.

"Yeah sure." She hopped on the desk. "How much do we have left?" She swung her legs as she smiled up at him.

"Probably about a week's worth," he replied, looking down.

"Oh." The smile slid off her face. "But we can get more right? Gotham's open for the takin' right?"

"Open for the taking," he agreed with a grin. "We'll organize another raid soon."

Harley giggled. "So are ya gonna take over then? Ya know, since Batman's dead."

"Hmm. I hadn't thought about how that'd change plans," he said thoughtfully, kicking his feet up on his desk.

"Does Crane get ta stop his little project?" She leaned forward with her elbow on her knees as she smiled at him.

"I'm... Not sure," he sounded hesitant again as he watched Harley with narrowed eyes.

"It'd be nice ta see him more often is all." She shrugged.

"Of course," Joker shrugged, lacing his fingers together as he stared at the wall. Harley watched him for a bit.

"So what do ya wanna do?"

"Work," he stared at her in confusion.

"What kinda work?" She looked around the office. "What we're ya workin' on?"

"I'm... I was... working." Joker stared at her confusedly. _What the hell does she want? Does she need food? What do I do with her? Is she doing this on purpose?_ He opened his mouth and closed it again. "Let's... Did you need something?" he asked.

"Nope. I just wanna help." She beamed at him.

"Go feed Nygma and Dent," he finally decided, looking at her. Harley frowned.

"Okay." Her lower lip stuck out as she pouted, and she slid of the desk and headed dejectedly to the door.

"Harley," he stopped her. "Um... Thank you," he choked with a smile.

"No problem Puddin." She grinned and kissed him on the cheek before skipping out of the room. Joker rolled his eyes and sighed, dropping his head back over the chair.

"Finally," he mumbled.

Harley got back into the elevator. She wanted to help Joker, but what she really wanted after seeing Dick was to not be alone. Normally in a situation like this, she'd go see Ivy, and she knew Joker would be happy to see her go. But there was no one left to go see. Even Nygma and Dent weren't really there anymore, and it was only a matter of time before they were past the point of no return. Then they'd have to be put down like any other Infected. What really worried her though, was Batman.

Despite what he said, Harley wasn't convinced Joker was actually glad Batman was on the cusp of death. He was more interested in any news that came to him of the caped crusader's condition then whether Harley was there or not. Even though it had been him that had almost killed Batman, she doubted Joker would know what to do or plan if he was really gone. She just wanted the next informant that came to the tower to say he'd died or woke up, so things could get back to normal. He'd finally know what to work on, and he even seemed more inclined to let her help.

She smiled to herself as the elevators closed before it slid off her face at the sight of the two snarling zombies.

"The stench down here is unbearable," she muttered.

It was times like these when she even missed Deadshot. He may have been an asshole, but at least he was lively conversation. She couldn't even watch the Arkham patrols anymore. There really was no one left but Joker. She found herself wondering if Ivy got to see Oscar Meyer now that she lived in Gotham. She missed the dog. She stopped herself before her mind could wander inevitably to Dick.

There was no missing him; she wouldn't allow herself to do that. Her resolve wouldn't last long if she missed him. _Besides, Puddin needs me_. She slipped past Nygma as he strained toward her at the end of his leash.

"Hey!" she whined when he almost nipped her. "Looks like Dent's gettin' all the good parts." She stuck her tongue out at him and tried not to gag as she went over to where flies were buzzing around their meal. As long as she had the Joker, she'd be alright. Arkham was where she belonged, and Arkham was where she would stay; she wouldn't repeat her mistake again. And she convinced herself her relationship with Dick had never meant anything anyway.


	30. The One Where They're Right Back At It

"Dick!" Selina cried into the comms, causing him to wince. "Will you tell Bruce he has to take his break sometime?" She was sitting crosslegged on his desk in the lab, glaring at him.

"Yeah Bruce, stay in," Nightwing responded. Selina grinned triumphantly at Bruce like she'd won. "Look, does anyone want to take my Arkham shift?" He asked distractedly.

"I just got off," Jason complained. "At least on supply I have a chance of taking a nap." He was up in his room changing his clothes between shifts. "It's your fault for giving up your break to Steph."

"Come on, anyone. City? Care to trade?" Dick asked again.

"She's been avoiding you this long, why are you so worried now?" Cass asked bluntly. She'd already started city patrol, parking her bike in an alley to continue on foot.

"Ouch," Dick muttered. "Thanks. Fine. Bruce, you're staying in." Bruce looked down at Selina. She was sitting in his way so that he couldn't work. He'd taken to coming down here to the labs every once and a while to help with the research since Tim had been infected. He turned his comm off.

"Selina..." he said quietly.

"No. No no no no! I let you stay down here for the past two breaks!" She snapped at him, frowning. She wasn't really that angry. She was just sick of it. And she might have been attempting to cause a scene, but she'd never admit that to herself. Or Bruce. "Ever since you started coming down here, I see less and less of you."

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "But he's not going to get better if we don't help him."

"Yeah well, working nonstop is going to kill you. Whether you starve or die of sleep deprivation, or if I do it myself." Selina hopped off of his desk and gave him a sarcastic smirk before kissing him slowly and passionately. It was enough to make his head spin. She pulled back and stroked his cheek before walking away. "Your loss then. I'm going to go take a shower." Bruce rubbed a hand across his eyes and turned his comm back on.

"Who's doing what shift?" he asked. Dick took a deep breath.

"Batwoman and I are on Arkham. Catwoman on break, Robin and Blackbat on city, with Red Hood headed out for supply, and Spoiler and Batgirl are in labs. I suggest you go on break, Batman," Nightwing said decisively.

"Yeah." Bruce turned and looked at Tim in his observation cage. It'd been over a month now since the attack on the tower that had led to his being Infected, but they weren't any nearer to a cure. The only comfort was that the sample Tim had injected himself with had stopped him from decaying. Since he couldn't heal, he looked the same as the day he'd turned. They had recreated the sample to give to all the Infected to buy time until they did find a cure, but it didn't feel like enough progress. "You know the drill with Arkham; make sure they're still quiet. And make sure Red Hood checks in often since he's without backup."

"Well I think the Commissioner wanted to go with him, but yeah, I'll remind him. Now go spend time with your wife," Dick ordered. Since Batman began spending more time in the labs, Dick had played a much bigger role in command. He'd kept himself busy, and it wasn't incredibly difficult. He had a lot to do.

"I am." Bruce walked out into the hall and pressed the elevator call button. "Think she'll forgive me?" The doors opened and he stepped on, pulling his cowl off.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Dick chuckled. He crossed the bridge and nodded at the police officer leaning against the support beam.

"I'm sure," Bruce agreed. "She'll be happy because she'll think she was victorious in getting me up here." The elevator neared his floor. "Have a safe patrol, Nightwing."

"Have a safe break, Batman," he chuckled, muting his comm. Dick walked through the empty streets, litter blowing into the gutters on the humid breeze. There had been three raids on the food supply in Midtown in the past month. Arkham needed food desperately, and it had been Dick and Jason's idea to let them take it. Now, the bridge guards were all ordered to step aside when Arkham conducted their raids. There were too many casualties if they tried to fight, and Dick had convinced Bruce that the inmates shouldn't have to starve.

Dick took a deep breath, looking around the abandoned streets. He hadn't been in Arkham in a month, always switching his Arkham shifts with Robin or Red Hood. The stab wound in his side was almost all the way healed by now.

Despite the time, he still thought about Harley. Constantly. But only while he was awake; he never did dream about her. That's why he desperately tried to occupy himself during the day. When he slept he could escape into the past, always sitting in Gotham Park with someone, a woman; he had no idea who she was, but he'd seen her before. Those dreams were no harm. The daydreams about Harley, however, made his heart ache, and Arkham patrol was a dangerous time in which his mind could wander to her.

Dick grappled up to the rooftop the building beside him, walking along the edge. It was hot, humid and bright; summer in full swing. Looking towards the hotel on the skyline, Dick thought about he and Harley's little apartment. He could even see the room. He looked down and bit his lip. He wanted to go there. Another reason why Arkham patrol was dangerous. He knew it would hurt to walk into that room, and he knew he shouldn't do it. All the same; he _wanted_ to. More than anything.

"No," he muttered to himself, jumping down to the street and going on with his patrol.

He still found himself there twenty minutes later, staring up at the balcony. The sun was getting high and hot, and Dick had abandoned his jacket again, tying the sleeves around his waist. He shook his head. "I'll just get something to drink, sit for a minute. I'll be fine. It'll be fine," he assured himself, grappling up. Dick pushed the balcony doors open and walked into the dim room, glancing around. The curtains were closed and when the door closed behind him, the room went dark. He could feel his exhaustion weighing on him; after all, he'd skipped two of his breaks, grabbing naps when he could. The darkness was inviting, and the bed welcoming. Dick fell back on the comforter with a grateful sigh. He knew it was a terrible idea; he still had his entire patrol, but he couldn't stop himself from relaxing into the bed. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

Then he realized it- the slight slope of the bed to the weight beside him, the body heat next to him, and her steady breathing- she was here.

Dick froze. His mind went blank, and he felt calm for a moment, like it was something he was used to, but then the panic set in. It'd been a whole month, but he wasn't over her. Not even close. He should just leave now, and she'd never know he was there. Or...

Dick pulled the blankets away from her face carefully, his fingers brushing her hair. He'd wished for a whole month that he could have a moment with her, to try to win her back. He never thought he'd get the chance. Dick leaned down and kissed her cheek gently, closing his eyes. Harley sighed in her sleep, smiling as she pulled the covers closer. Her pigtails were splayed across the pillow, the blankets up around her shoulders. Dick smiled and then sat back a bit, relaxing next to her. He watched her sleeping face before taking his mask off and sighing quietly. She'd kill him if she woke up. That is, _if_ she woke up. He rolled onto his shoulder to face her carefully, and then his comm beeped. Dick froze, his breath catching in his throat. Harley's body stiffened at the beep, and she blinked her eyes open.

"Oh my God!" she cried when she saw him. "What the hell?!" She shoved him away in surprise, nearly pushing them both off either side of the bed. Dick scrambled back, laughing as he nearly fell. This was it. He'd gone insane. He continued to laugh as he looked down, running his hand through his hair.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion, still chuckling. Dick looked up at her.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" she cried, still in shock. She looked around at the room then at the bed, and she pointed to the spot where he'd been laying. "What were you doing?" She looked back up at him. "We're you... What? What were you... And why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he laughed, rubbing his face. "I'm sorry, it is funny. I wasn't going to come here. I haven't. For a month. And when I do..." He sighed and dropped his hand on his leg. "You're just so cute when you're sleeping, I-"

"-Ya can't just watch me sleep," she accused, "that's really creepy!" She sat up further, blinking her tired eyes to try and adjust them to the darkness. "And you haven't been here in a month so..."

"I just got here!" he defended. "Why are you here?" Dick stood up and laughed.

"I was sleeping!" she cried. "And you- you haven't even _been_ in Arkham. You weren't supposed ta just show up!"

"Sorry to disappoint you," he muttered. His hair was longer, falling over his shoulders in dark, messy waves. His fitted t-shirt hugged his body distractingly, his muscles moving under it as he raised his arms to tie his hair up. Harley fell forward against the blankets and groaned.

"They were really good dreams," she whined.

"Well I didn't ask you to wake up, I would have been perfectly content being the Edward to your Bella for a while as you slept," he muttered, holding his ponytail holder in his teeth. He took it and wrapped it around the messy bun.

"Ew no," she mumbled. "Don't do that; it's creepy. It may seem flattering, but ya just sound like a stalker."

"Well you don't give me much choice, do you?" Dick dropped his hands at his sides. "You scream accusations at me that I'm using you and then storm off, and then I don't see you for a month. Makes a guy kind of desperate."

"No," Harley sat back up, "I voiced... rather loudly, my feelings at you lying to me and, yes, using me. Why should I have to see ya after that?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. She was finding it surprisingly hard to be mad at him now that he was here. Despite knowing she wanted to still be mad at him, her anger had evaporated over the course of the month.

"I wasn't-" Dick groaned and rubbed his temples. "I thought 'hey, maybe if I can get her on our side, it'd leave their side vulnerable.' Once. I thought that _one time._ And then I got here and I saw you and-" Dick took a deep breath. "That is the extent of how I used you. That was it." He spoke deliberately and to the point. He'd clearly stressed over it a lot. "Using you for- for sex is not- that's not who I am."

"Oh really?" she snapped. "It never once crossed your mind 'hey it'd really get to the Joker if I fucked his girlfriend?' It wasn't even about me." She glared at him. While she couldn't find it in her to be angry, it still hurt, and she hadn't forgiven him. "I just wanted a friend, and you wanted to get to him."

"I wanted to get you _away from_ him!" Dick suddenly snapped, nearly shouting it. Even he was taken aback by his outburst. "Yes. Ok? _Yes._ I used you. I thought that if I could pull you away from the Joker it would weaken him. I didn't realize that when you pulled away from me it would have the same effect," he snapped right back. If she wanted to fight about it, then he wasn't about to deny her. "I used you for probably _a day_ because it was an idea that my dumb ass brother put in my head, and I thought maybe if I was getting something out of it, then Batman would stop riding my ass about how insane I was acting. I thought that if I could do some good with whatever it is we had, maybe he'd let me keep seeing you. But you know what?! I couldn't do it. I went head over heels for you, and that theory evaporated. If that caused bumps in you and the Joker's relationship, then bully for me, I got a bonus. I got to sleep with the woman of my dreams _and_ stop her bastard boyfriend from abusing her!" He spread his arms, biting his lip to hold back the rest of the rant he was shouting in his mind. Twenty four hours ago, all he'd wanted was to feel her touch; to hear her say his name again. Now they were fighting? Something about her just made his blood boil, and there was something so incredibly exhilarating about that. The passion. There was a heat between them like he'd never felt before.

Harley turned away from him and stared at the wall, her jaw clenching. "He's not the one who hurt me," she hissed through her teeth. She couldn't say it louder; she couldn't risk her voice cracking. She couldn't risk breaking down. Because no matter how hard she'd tried not to, she'd missed him.

"I didn't want to," Dick said, his voice gentler. "I never meant to."

"Well then ya shouldn'ta set it up that way." She pulled her knees up into her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "I was always gonna find out, so was he, you asked me to choose, and there was always going to be a break up. No matter what I was gonna get hurt because that's the way you designed it."

Dick didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe how much he'd missed her, even when she was furious with him. Dick sat down on the bed, looking at the messy hair falling down her back. "I'm sorry, Harley."

"And I'm a Virgo," she muttered, "so what."

"Honestly, what do you want me to say to that?" He couldn't help but smile a little at her sarcasm.

"I don't know," she groaned, leaning back and falling against the pillows. "You're an ass, but I missed you." She huffed air out of her mouth to blow her bangs out of her face. "Wasn't it you who made fun 'a my taste in men?"

"Maybe. And I missed you too," Dick smoothed her hair back. "You do have bad taste in men. I'm not good enough for you."

"Obviously. And I'm still mad at you." She nudged him away before bursting into laughter. "Hey, isn't your comm beeping what woke me up?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh shit-" Dick pressed his comm. "Jason, did you check in?"

"Ooo, Jason," Harley teased.

"I tried to check in," Jason corrected him on comms.

"...Red Hood. Sorry about that. Yeah. You doing ok?" Dick asked, rubbing his neck. He glanced at Harley.

"Yes," Jason stressed slowly. "I just know Batsy gets antsy when one of us is in charge of patrol alone. Did Catwoman end up convincing him to take his break?" he asked conversationally.

"Yeah, Bats went on break. Look, I'm gonna get back to work now, be safe. You said it yourself, you know how Batman gets nowadays if you don't check in."

"Yes mom."

"Alright Jay, see you." Dick muted his comm again and looked at Harley. "You take that to your grave."

"Oh please I already knew his name," she scoffed. "And is it true that Selina's not dead?!" She sat up, grinning hopefully. Dick smiled a little.

"Yeah, she's fine," he assured her. "A little on the crazy side, but you know. All the best people are." She kicked her legs as she sat up.

"I knew she couldn't be dead," she squealed. "An' how's Red doin' living on the straight and narrow?" She giggled.

"Ivy? She's good. Doesn't cause too much trouble. I think Red Hood has a thing for her," Dick sighed and smiled happily.

"Don't tell her, but I think she has a thing for him too." She grinned.

"Oh?" Dick laughed. He leaned down on his arm. "I'll make sure to let him know."

"Really? Neither of them have made a move?" Harley shook her head in exasperation and laughed. Dick smiled, enjoying her smile. He realized he was staring and bit his lip as he looked down.

"I should get back to work..." He sighed a bit.

"I'm having deja vu. Have we had this conversation before?" She giggled.

"Yeah probably. Look, I really am sorry. And I like you, Harley." Dick bit his lip again. He'd sunk down against the comforter, head leaning against his hand.

"Well that sounds like the start of a couple break ups I've been a part of." She smirked at him. "Is it not you it's me?"

"Well breaking up implies we're together." Dick smirked. Harley cocked her head.

"Ya know, I think I've heard that one too."

"Are we?" Dick watched her, smiling a little.

"Are we what?" Her brow furrowed. "Together?" " _I love you_." He'd actually said it before, and she could almost believe he meant it. But she had promised herself she wouldn't see him. She had promised _Joker_ she wouldn't see him. "What about me avoiding you for a month makes you think we're 'together?'"

"Right." He laughed and looked down. "Why are you even here?" Dick asked curiously. "Don't you... Have a place? Why are you sleeping here?"

"I just…" She pursed her lips. "You weren't using the place, so I figured it'd be okay if… I just sleep here if I... ever need to get away… Why can't I just sleep in a place?" She crossed her arms. "Is it that big 'a deal?"

"No. I just thought something might have happened." Dick watched her, his blue eyes intent. He'd missed her so much, and now she was sitting in front of him, but he couldn't do a thing about it. He was in love with her, and everything he said seemed to make her angry. He was helpless.

"No," she sighed, "absolutely nothing has happened." She stared up at the ceiling and chewed on the inside of her cheek. "So," she rolled her head to look at him again, "how ya been circus boy?"

"Stressed. Batman..." Dick watched her. He suddenly couldn't trust her anymore. When he thought she felt something for him it was a different story, but... Now, he was wary of her. "I've had a lot on my plate. Kept busy."

"Well that makes one of us. Do ya know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop? Because I do now."

Dick laughed. "Bored, were you?"

"Only... _colossally_ ," she said dramatically and giggled. Dick smiled. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want her to leave, and he didn't want her to kick him out. Harley watched him for a moment. It was nice to talk to him again. It was easy, and it made her happy to make him laugh, and she'd missed him and the way his shirt fit him... She cleared her throat.

"So, uh, hey thanks for letting us raid food every now and again." She wasn't allowed on the raids, but she helped distribute the food when the trucks came back, and there was no way they'd come back with that much food without trouble every time unless the Bats were letting them. Dick glanced at her.

"Who says we let you?" He smiled a little. There it was again. That look in his eyes, he looked... Infatuated. Completely taken by her.

"I do." She grinned at him. "Either that or you're really slacking."

"You guys shouldn't have to starve," Dick laid back on the bed calmly, staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah, now we're just mildly uncomfortable," she joked. "Hey, completely logical jump from starving Arkham inmates, but how's Oscar Meyer? Is he okay?"

"He's good. Robin likes him a lot, and Titus is the Great Dane that he has, and that dog likes him a lot." Dick sighed a bit. "I should bring him here for you next time." Harley stared at him.

"Is there going to be a next time?" He froze. Dick didn't look at her, still staring at the ceiling.

"The next time you come. I can drop the dog off with some food... He can be here for you to see."

"And what about the next time you come?" she asked.

"I won't." Dick turned his head to look at her. Her face fell.

"Oh." She turned her face away. She knew she wasn't supposed to want to see him but... "Right. Not seeing each other, enemies, mad at each other, all that jazz. I forgot."

Dick still watched her, gently touching her cheek to guide her face back to look at him. "Could you forget again?" She swallowed hard.

"Forget what?" She gave him a lopsided grin. Dick smiled again, laughing. He held her gaze and exhaled slowly.

"May I kiss you?" he asked quietly. The smile slid off her face.

"I know what I'm supposed to say but... Yeah."

Dick smiled a little before leaning over and kissing her gently, his lips soft and decisive against hers. His hand cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheekbone as he kissed her lovingly. Harley ran her hands up either side of his neck, her fingers trailing just at the end of his hair line. She pulled him closer as she kissed him back fervently. She'd forgotten what it had felt like. Her memories hadn't done this justice, and she could remember why she'd been unable to stop seeing him. Dick pulled back reluctantly, his eyes still closed.

"I shouldn't." He whispered, breathing faster. He'd underestimated just how weak she made him feel. He thought he could control himself after one kiss, but he'd also overestimated himself. Harley looked down.

"I know," she sighed.

"That doesn't mean I don't really, _really_ want to," Dick whispered, his lips brushing hers. Harley grinned. She tilted her head up to tug at his bottom lip with her teeth.

"It is what we're good at," she murmured. Dick suppressed a moan, closing his eyes. He almost looked pained, and he put his hands on her arms to gently push her away.

"No. If that's what we are, then no." He sat up, grabbing his mask off of the bedside table before standing up, putting it on to hide his reddened cheeks.

"What?" Harley sat up as she watched him. "What did I do wrong?"

"I can't do this that way," he watched her.

"You can't do... what what way?" she asked in confusion. She looked down at his body. "Is something wrong?"

"No no- jeez no-" Dick took a deep breath, going redder. "I don't want to do this with you thinking that- that you're just some girl I've got on the side. I can't do this if that's all you think you are to me. Even if... Even if that's all I am to you." She stared at him for a long time.

"But that is what I am to you, right?" She was panicking. Her mind felt like it was shutting down, unable to process his words. He couldn't actually love her.

"No. I said it and I meant it." Dick watched her, his jaw set. _You idiot, you'll never see her again!_ he chided himself, knowing full well just how poorly she could potentially react to this.

"No," Harley stood up, "no, no, no." She started pacing. "You can't say... _that._ You can't mean that. You're not supposed to... There are _thousands_ of girls in Gotham. No. I can't be the one that you..." She shook her head vigorously. "Nuh uh. I'm supposed to be able to flirt the pants off any guy, but you're a _hero_. The only way I'm supposed to be able to get you to say... those three words is if I get Ivy to help me drug ya."

"You did your job too well then," Dick sighed, sitting down slowly on the bed. He watched her pace the room. Harley stopped and stared at him.

"You can't love me."

"Ok?" Dick looked back at her. "Then what?" He asked, standing up and coming so close to her that she could feel the heat of his chest. He stood a few inches taller than her, looking down at her face through his mask. "You accused me of taking you as a 'piece of ass' that I could have whenever it was convenient, which you're not; you said it's all you were good for, which it's _not_." Dick took off his mask, his blue eyes watching her face earnestly. His voice wasn't hostile, but it was forceful. Almost angry. "I'm not saying that my lying about the secondary purpose of my actions is excusable, I'm only explaining that it wasn't my original intention or my highest priority." When she tried to look down, he caught her face and prevented it, looking between her eyes for a moment. "My feelings aside, we don't have to be any more than what we were before. Not if you don't want us to be." And with that, he kissed her passionately, his lips moving against hers with nearly ferocious intensity as he held her face in his hand.

Harley sank weakly into the kiss, her hands grasping to hold onto his shoulders. He was never supposed to fall in love with her, and she shouldn't be with him still if he did. But his kiss was dizzying and the thought of leaving his arms daunting. He trailed his thumb across her cheek only for it to come back wet as he wiped away a tear. Dick rested his forehead against hers, looking at her in concern. He wiped her tears away, holding her face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- I'm sorry-" Dick watched her, breathing fast. He still stood close to her; he couldn't pull away. He never wanted to.

"No, it's… no." She kept her eyes closed. "It's not you; it's… I'm crazy remember?" She gave him a small smile.

"That doesn't mean you don't have reasons behind your emotions. Something is wrong," he said gently, his lips brushing hers. "Are you tired? Really want cake? Do I smell?" He chuckled. "No reason is too small. What's wrong?" He stroked her cheek.

"It's…" She stared up at him. While the Joker hadn't seemed to mind her occasional foray in the night and would even use it to his advantage, that was different than being in a relationship with someone else. With a _hero_. The only thing that would be worse is if she started dating Batman. But she couldn't lie to the Joker about her and Dick again, and he'd already made his displeasure at seeing Dick clear enough. The only way he'd be happy with this is if he could exploit the fact that Dick loved her, and she wasn't willing to hurt Dick like that. "I don't know what to do," she whispered. Dick took a deep breath.

"Big reason, ok," he said quietly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Dick took her hand as he sat down on the bed with her standing in front of him. She laughed harshly.

"No I don't really want to talk about how I'm going to have to choose and it's going to hurt and no one is going to be happy either way." She shook her head and looked down. "I can't have both of you, can I?" she asked quietly. Dick bit his lip, looking down.

"I'm not sure. We can... We can figure something out. Can't we?" He met her eyes. All he wanted was her. He wanted to see her happy, and he wanted to be the one to make her happy. _I don't know if that's possible,_ he thought to himself. Dick sighed slowly. "Is there any way... You could still see me, and not be... I don't know, in trouble?" he asked, looking up at her. She bit her lip and stared at him with a pained expression.

"Ok, no. Ok, um..." Dick looked down. His throat was burning. "But I just got you back," he said quietly, laughing a little.

Harley sniffled. "Can I change my reason to really wanting cake?" She smiled sadly. Dick didn't look up.

"What if- couldn't we just-" Dick stood up, squeezing her hand. "I may have an idea. In a week, if we still want... To see each other... We'll meet back here. Maybe we just need some time to think."

"Yeah," she laughed, "because one week is going to change what we've been thinking for the last month."

"What have we been thinking?" he asked with a smile. She glared at him.

"That you're a stupid, stubborn ass that I shouldn't want to see, but I do." Dick backed off a little.

"Jeez, hostility. I'm not a _total_ ass, am I?" He shrugged, smiling a little.

"I just think you're just really good with anything ass related in general." She smirked.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or offended," he laughed. "You wound me, Harley Quinn." She giggled.

"You'll get over it, Dick Grayson." He smiled and brushed her hair away from her face, biting his lip.

"I really did miss you."

She beamed. "Good."

Dick smiled broader at her. "Didn't you miss me?" he asked, stepping closer. His hand was on her waist, and she wondered when it had gotten there. Harley squinted her eyes at him.

"You just want me to say it again, don't ya?"

"Maybe a little," Dick smiled, biting his lip.

"Fine. I may have missed you... a little." She gave him a begrudging smile. Dick grinned and leaned down to kiss her gently. He pulled her closer by her waist. Harley stood on tiptoe, bouncing a little as she kissed him back, giggling against his lips. Dick laughed and kissed her again. He'd wanted to do this for weeks, he'd missed her so much; he wanted to forget how wrong it probably was. Dick kissed her hard, pulling her against his chest. She pulled her face back and looked at him seriously.

"I'm such an ass kisser." She gave him a huge grin and started laughing again. Dick smirked and shook his head, looking down.

"Ha, ha, very funny," he muttered, hiding his smiling.

"Don't be such a butt," she giggled, "I'm hilarious."

"Yeah, you keep being funny then. If I'm here I may as well do something productive like shower, I haven't in a while," he walked to the bathroom, rolling his eyes.

"You do smell pretty shitty," she told him, falling back onto the bed as she smiled.

"Ok thanks," he called, and she heard the shower running.

"I'm sorry you're the rear end of all these jokes," she yelled back as she giggled to herself.

"You're not sorry," came his shouted reply.

"Not even a little!" She pulled the covers over herself and curled up in a ball. It was still pleasantly dark in the room with the curtains drawn, and she nudged her head into a more comfortable position on the pillow as she smiled. She could hear Dick humming quietly.

He finished his shower in a hurry and got dressed again, walking back out into the bedroom. He checked his comm and unmuted it. "Nightwing, checking in. How is everyone doing today?" He asked in his best imitation of an airline pilot.

"Boo," Stephanie replied.

"I fastened my seatbelt and my seat is in the upright position," Jason joked.

"Tray tables up?" Dick laughed.

"How do you two get any work done?" Barbara asked.

"City patrol has been quiet," Robin updated, and Cass agreed.

"So far nothing from my end of Arkham," Kate added.

"Fine here too," Dick added with a wince.

"Yeah I am," Harley mumbled into her pillow. He glanced down at her and kissed her shoulder blade with a smile.

"Ok. Stay safe everyone," he responded and then muted his comm. "You're going to get me into trouble," he muttered, planting his hand at her side as he kissed down her spine.

"And am I the trouble in this scenario?" she giggled. Even feeling his lips through her clothes was fantastic.

"You're always trouble," he informed her with a smile, kissing her ear. He took in the scent of her hair, his lips brushing the back of her neck.

"Oh look, you found skin," she sighed happily. Dick laughed, kissing her neck.

"Were you worried I wouldn't?" He smiled, a hand on her hip, his finger running little circles over her skin.

"Not even a little bit," she told him, turning her head to smirk up at him. Dick smiled, kissing her over her shoulder. His lips were soft, and his hand tightened on her hip. She could feel him pressed against her back, her legs tangled with his. Her breathing sped up, and she reached her arm up the best she could to pull his face closer. Dick kissed her again, his dark hair falling over his shoulder. It was still damp and smelled sweet like the shampoo she'd stocked the shower with. He held her close, kissing her again with the same intensity as before. Harley leaned back for a second and smiled at him.

"Ya know," she gave him a quick kiss, "this position is really uncomfortable." Dick laughed and pulled her over to face him, smiling as she settled against his chest.

"Better?" She could feel his heartbeat under her hand.

"Much." She kissed along his cheek to his ear. "And how is it for you, Mr. Grayson?" she breathed.

"Better," he smiled, closing his eyes. "Much better." _I missed you._ She giggled and kissed his nose.

"Good."

Dick kissed her lazily, savoring the taste. He inhaled deeply, wrapping his arm around her waist. She wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him hard. She grinned as she bit his bottom lip. Dick moaned in shock. He melted into her kiss, his hand climbing up her back as he situated himself against her, holding her tight. Kissing her fervently, Dick ran a hand into her hair and gently tugged her pigtail out.

"And how about this position?" she murmured as she arched her back against him and ran her hands down his sides to tug the hem of his shirt up. She could feel him tense under her touch, and he dropped his head back, sighing. He kissed her slowly, pulling her second pigtail out as he nodded against her lips.

"Not bad," he half moaned, laughing when he did and kissing her again. She let her fingers trail across his skin as she pulled his shirt up higher.

"And what would be better?" she teased. Dick blushed, turning his head a bit. He closed his eyes when her lips brushed his neck, and he smiled slowly, wrapping his arms tighter around her waist. Dick sat up, pushing Harley up with him as he pulled her top over her head. When it hit the floor and her hair fell down over her shoulders, he was immediately kissing her again; the passive, deliberate motion of his lips on hers drew her in, and he cupped her face with his palm to hold her there. They were suspended in the kiss for a moment. It was so earnest that it took her breath away; his taste was intoxicating, and his touch was worshipful on her skin as his other hand held her waist, delicately, as if she was made of something more precious than gold.

Harley moaned, her breath gasping past her lips. She yanked his shirt up over his head and tossed it aside. "Would you believe me if I said I was still mad at you?" She laughed. She kissed longingly across his shoulder as she tightened her legs around his waist to pull her body closer to his. Dick smiled, his head dropping back as he grinned, biting his lip to keep from groaning.

"I could use a little punishment," he laughed, one hand grabbing her butt, the other moving up her spine slowly, savoring every inch of her skin. He felt dizzy, drunk on her kiss and the warmth of her body against his. She could feel the almost healed stab wound in his side, more of a scar now than a wound. She couldn't help but grin at him before kissing him again as her hands steadily crept down his skin. She'd missed him so much and couldn't help but feel jubilant at the way his body reacted to her as she moved to undo his belt.

"Quinn!" Came a distant yell, and she froze, her hands still at his belt. "I know you're up there!" Harley groaned in frustration as she glared at the window.

"Damn it," she muttered, "now?!"

"What?" Dick breathed, looking at her in confusion. "Who the- what the-"

"It's my babysitter," she said spitefully and rolled her eyes. Dick still stared at her.

"What?!"

"I was supposed to stay in Arkham." She kissed his cheek and stood up to grab her shirt. "I guess me getting bored since everyone's dead or gone and wandering around Uptown again was seen as me acting out or something." She'd started going outside the wall again to see if Joker would take notice, instead he'd just had someone follow her. The first time she'd noticed the tail on her, she'd been so mad she'd retaliated by staying here again. "So happy go lucky out there follows me around to make sure I'm not doing anything else I shouldn't. Like seeing you." She pulled her shirt on and sighed. "I thought I ditched him over by the asylum."

"Are you... kidding me?" Dick groaned and dropped back on the bed.

"Don't ignore me!"

Harley opened the balcony door to yell back "Yes, okay! Don't get your panties in a bunch." She closed it and started tying her hair back up. "I'm sorry. They really don't like it when stay here. Probably something to do with some hero or other maybe showing up." She smiled at him.

"Who's- who's 'they?'" Dick asked, watching her from the bed. She tugged her pigtails tight and went over to the bed. She leaned over him and gave him a quick kiss.

"Joker really doesn't like you," she reminded him, her thumb tracing across his scar. "And he just has the stupid mob thug down there named Tony Zucco who tails me when I leave the tower." She rolled her eyes. Dick froze, nearly choking on the breath caught in his throat.

"He's- still alive-?" He barely got the words out. Dick took a deep breath, shaking his head. Harley watched him in confusion.

"Who is he?"

"The man who killed my parents," Dick sighed slowly, dropping his head in his hands. "I… I thought he was in Blackgate, but it makes sense he'd end up here. And of course your boyfriend probably has all of the hard copy arrest files that were in the prison so… Yeah. Joker's out to get me, alright."

"The guy who's been followin' me..." Harley stared at him with her mouth open before shaking her head. "Be right back." She kissed his forehead. "Imma go take care 'a him." She headed over to the balcony door. Dick looked up.

"Wait- what are you gonna do?" He caught her arm. She looked back at him.

"I feel like it was heavily implied when I said take care of. I can spell it out if you like?"

"Don't. Don't do that," he pleaded.

"What, why?" She stared at him in confusion. "He's a monster. He hurt you. I've killed people for less. I mean if it makes you uncomfortable as a hero or whatever, ya don't have ta watch."

"I know. But I couldn't live with myself if I let you do something like that." Dick stared at her, blue eyes searching. This was a moment to prove herself. "Don't make me fight you on this."

"This... is going to be a problem between us, isn't it?" She pursed her lips as she looked up at him.

"Quinn!" Zucco yelled again.

"It won't be a problem if you don't make it one," he pleaded. "When it happened... God, I wanted him dead. I've controlled myself for years. I _wanted_ to kill him. After all this time, if I let you do this, it will have been for nothing and I'll be right back where I was when I was twelve. Please."

"Even if I don't kill one person- who deserves it I might add- that doesn't change who I am," she challenged. "This is going to come up again and again. What's gonna happen when you're not here to ask me to stop? Or when I don't listen? I can't stop being me. And this is me. The one trying to go commit a justifiable murder."

"Not this time. It's not worth it. I don't pretend to ignore your past, and I don't pretend that I might change who you are, but right now, in this moment, take my side." Dick's hand slid into hers, and he held it tight. "Don't do this. Don't do this, for me." Harley pursed her lips.

"If I don't do it, can I ask why I can't?"

"I can't have this on my head."

"But it won't be on your head," she insisted. "It'd be on mine. And that's something I can live with. What I can't live with is if him- or people like 'im are left alive to keep doin' what they're doin'." She stared at him. "What if he's killed other little boys families because you wouldn't stop him. I may be a monster and a killer until someone out there stops me, but there doesn't need to be others out there like me. And I have no problem stoppin' them."

Dick looked distraught. He was torn. He couldn't just let her kill him; he couldn't stand by and let it happen, even if the man was a monster. If she didn't, though, she'd have to go with him, and Dick might never see her again. She could disappear into Arkham City and never come back. "Please," he begged weakly. "If you care about me at all, don't do this."

"Okay," she finally agreed. "But I might not always say yes. Then what happens?" She was afraid she'd scare him away. She wasn't a hero, and he would see that eventually.

"We don't have to worry about that now," he said quietly. "You should go, I guess."

"Yeah, see ya-" She realized she didn't know when or even if she'd see him again. "See ya." She nodded to herself and headed to the door. "No, ya know what?" She marched back over to him and pulled him to her by his shoulders as she kissed him with everything she had. She clung onto him as the kiss went on, reluctant to break it off. When she finally did, she put her hand over her mouth as she look up at him. She cleared her throat. "Okay, _now_ I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Dick choked, still breathing hard. He was dazed after the kiss; his mind still lost in it. "I'll... I hope we see each other again." Harley pulled her grappling gun out as she headed to the door. She turned back and smiled at him.

"Bye Wonder Boy."


	31. The One With Joker's Punishment

Selina stared up at Bruce's face, so calm in his sleep. She wasn't sure if he dreamed or not, but wherever he went when he closed his eyes, it must be peaceful. Even before he'd nearly been killed, she'd had trouble sleeping. Now it seemed nearly unreachable, and she lay awake, watching him sleep. The sun was setting outside the windows, bathing the Gotham skyline in pink and orange, the city on fire in the light.

Without disturbing him, Selina slipped out from under his arm, the blankets rustling quietly as she stood and went into the bathroom. She didn't turn the light on. She could see herself well enough in the waning sunlight to lean closer to the mirror and smudge her eyeliner away. She glanced back into the bedroom and then quickly brushed more mascara in, dotting her lips with a gloss. Selina smiled at herself in the mirror and slipped back out into the darkening bedroom. Stopping by the windows, she couldn't help but gaze out over the city. When she was a child, all she'd wanted was to live like a princess; now here she was, the metaphorical queen of this dystopian empire.

Bruce woke a little, about to shift his position when he realized Selina wasn't there. He was instantly awake. Once he spotted her by the window, he relaxed a little, watching her. She'd grown too thin over the past couple of weeks, but she still struck a striking figure against the sunset, and Bruce smiled to himself. When Selina turned around and saw that he was awake, she smiled. It was small, but a smile nonetheless, and then it was gone.

"You ought to still be asleep, you know," she said quietly, her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's night, and bats are nocturnal," he told her, stretching as he sat up. Selina moved over to sit on the bed, watching him.

"Well you did stay up pretty late in the day," she commented, smiling at him halfheartedly.

"It was worth every second." He ran a hand through his hair. "Still can't sleep?"

"I got some," she lied, her voice quiet. He watched her carefully.

"Come here." He held his arms out to her. Selina crawled into his arms, tucking her face into his neck. Her hand slid into his hair as she hugged him.

"What?" she whispered. Bruce could feel the lashes of her closed eyes against his neck, and he felt her lip tremble. He kissed her head as he ran a hand through her hair.

"You looked like you were going to go run across those rooftops, so I had to hold you here."

"You think you can keep me here?" She teased, kissing his neck gently, her hand on his cheek. Her diamond ring was on her finger; the only thing she wore, pressed up against him in the fading light.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He traced his thumb along her side as he held her against his bare chest. Selina exhaled slowly as she licked her lip gloss off of his neck.

"Good. I'll stay as long as I want." She kissed his shoulder and rested her head there, her hand absently trailing over the numerous nearly healed stab wounds in his torso.

"What about what I want?" he asked quietly, kissing the top of her ear.

"I'll give you anything," she breathed, staring into the dark. The last of the sun's rays were disappearing to leave them in darkness. Bruce lifted her chin up and studied the shadows of her face.

"I want to see you happy."

"Well I hope the fact that I genuinely try is enough for you," she said quietly. The tears pricking her eyes was a sensation she was too used to, and too tired of feeling. She could feel the worry and judgement settling in, and she looked away from him. He grabbed her chin and made her look at him again.

"You're always enough for me."

Selina smiled wanly and stroked his cheek. "How are you feeling?" She changed the subject, her worry still sung in her voice.

"I feel fine." He caught her hand and kissed the back of it. "Peaceful actually. I'm sorry I haven't taken my breaks recently. I'll try not to make that mistake again."

"Good. You know that it upsets me. And I feel so selfish because Tim... Oh God, he needs you so much more than I do." Her arms tightened around his neck despite her words, and she pinched her eyes closed. "I love you, is all."

"You need me too." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "And while I desperately want to find a cure to bring Tim back, I won't pretend I don't work just as hard in the lab for you because curing you will mean you have one less thing to worry about."

"Then I'll just be left with the full time job of worrying about you," she smiled a little. Her hand on his chest pushed him down into the soft pillows, and she straddled his waist before lying down on his chest. Her head was tucked neatly under his chin. She'd grown lighter, too, in the past month, and that worried him a bit. Selina trailed a hand down his arm, feeling the contour of his muscles.

"Exactly." His fingers traced along her spine. "Since it's a full time job, you're overworking yourself."

"I have to, when you won't take your breaks," she swatted his chest, hating herself for feeling genuine anger over it before she took a deep breath and controlled her emotions.

"What I'm hearing is that I need to listen to you more." He smirked down at her, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Maybe. You're stubborn, it's one of your issues to work on," she looked up at him before kissing him gently.

"And running around dressed as a giant bat _isn't_ something I need to work on?" His eyes were amused as he reached up to stroke her cheek.

"Mmmmm... You never joke about the cowl, it's kinda cute," she smiled a little. Selina turned her head to kiss his thumb. Her eyes were sleepy. His thumb traced her lips.

"Well it's not a laughing matter." Bruce watched her intently. It was the same unreadable look he had when he put his mask on. His look steady and set as he studied her face.

"I know," Selina said quietly, laying her head back down on his chest, listening to his heart. Reminding herself that he was human. He wanted to lift her face back up to where he could see it. Sometimes he couldn't believe she was here, how beautiful she was, and he just had to stare. Selina sat up, trailing a hand down his chest. "Please don't go back out," she said softly.

"You know what I have to say," he sighed, "you know what I always have to say."

"I know. I just have to try every time," she watched him, her face pained; her body silhouetted in the dark like a noir painting.

"And it never gets any easier." He kissed her softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled, watching him again without a word. He lay under her, where she could see every scar, every stitched gash in his torso, and his face; he didn't look old. She cocked her head at him a bit, her hands feeling over the sharply defined muscles in his torso. He looked _aged._ As if the years may finally be weighing on him. Her hands reached his shoulders and began down again; Selina closed her eyes, lost in thought. Bruce reached up and stroked her cheek.

"What's on your mind?"

"You. Always you. Though at the moment... how hungry I am," she smiled sadly, leaning forward to kiss him. She licked her lips. "We could make dinner," Selina ran her hands down his chest as she pressed herself against him. He placed his hands over hers.

"And what do you feel like having?

She sighed deeply, thinking for a moment. "I feel like flank steak and garlic mashed potatoes, or shrimp, or lobster- but I'd settle for a frozen pizza or something," she kissed his cheek.

"Frozen pizza it is." He smiled up at her. "Are you going to let me get up?"

"Maybe. Why don't you make me, big man?" Her lips turned up in a genuine smile this time, and she traced his smile with her finger. Bruce scooped her up into his arms and stood up before setting her back on the bed and kissing her forehead.

"What kind of pizza do you want?" He went over and pulled a pair of sweatpants on. "And when was the last time we restocked the pizza up here?"

"Um, I did last break when you weren't here. I had to drown my sorrows in something," she quipped, walking into the closet. She came back out wearing a sheer black and lace nightdress, smiling as she pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him. "Is this acceptable clothing Mr. Wayne? Or should I go change?"

"Completely unacceptable," he told her seriously. "If you want pizza," his hands found their way to her waist, "you'll have to change immediately."

Selina scoffed, pulling it over her head and tossing it on the floor so she wore nothing. "Better, my love?" She asked, kissing his cheek.

"So much worse." He pulled her closer. "You're lucky I didn't preheat the oven."

"You're lucky I didn't put my underwear back on," Selina chuckled, kissing his lips. She kissed him again, still smiling. "Though it is sexy when you tear it off," she whispered, her fingers in his hair. Bruce lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"So sorry to disappoint."

"No, you don't disappoint. You always pull through," she draped her arms over his shoulders, her fingers in his hair. Selina exhaled against his lips, never straying too far from them, even when she spoke. Her legs tightened around his waist. "You cheated and put pants on," she sighed with another kiss.

"That's because I thought you were hungry." His lips brushed hers before trailing along her jaw. Selina sighed quietly. She didn't seem into it, but then again, she never did anymore. She was perfectly happy pleasing him, but she wanted nothing in return. She was listless and slow. He kissed steadily down her neck, one hand holding her up as the other traced the ridges of her spine. "I thought they'd allow me to be productive long enough to get us fed." He kissed down her chest. "Clearly I underestimated you."

"Yes you did," she moaned, her hand on his shoulder as she leaned back. Her fingernails dug into his skin.

"I'm sorry I've missed our break days," he breathed against her skin. Selina laughed.

"Well you're making up for it now, aren't you?" She giggled, pulling him closer. She could feel her heart racing, her cheeks flushed, and she reigned herself in a bit, her breathing slowing. This wasn't how she should react, and she had to remedy it.

"I'm trying to." He strode over to the bed, pressing her down. "But you don't make it very hard for me to want to."

"Just doing my job," she gasped, cupping his face in her hands as she kissed him slowly.

"I thought we already talked about how you overwork yourself." His voice whispered across her lips.

"Do you want me to stop?" She sighed, her lips brushing his longingly. Selina wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He ran his hand along her leg, kneeling above her.

"Bruce," she sighed desperately, her heart racing. She kissed down his neck, biting him between every few kisses, and pulled him down closer to her. "You don't exactly make this easy either," she smiled. He chuckled, pressing his hips against hers.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he repeated. Selina laughed and then groaned, clawing at his shoulder.

"Sure you don't have somewhere else you'd rather be?" She purred, pulling his hair as she kissed him. Something had changed in her demeanor; she was suddenly very energetic in her kiss; suddenly heated and passionate again. He leaned back a little, tracing her lip with his thumb.

"Nowhere."

"Good." Selina smiled and kissed his finger, running her hand through his hair. She pulled herself up to whisper in his ear. "Now how about you get those pants off?" He smiled, leaning back down against her.

"But I wouldn't want to spoil your fun." He brushed her hair to the side as he kissed her.

"I don't care if you take them off, I take them off, or if they just vanish into thin air," Selina gasped. She pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard. She bit his tongue and then kissed him again. "The fun doesn't start until the pants are off." She laughed, feeling her heart racing in her chest pressed against his. It was coming dangerously close to overwhelming, and God, she wanted to lose her mind with him. But she couldn't do that, not anymore. Selina let her hands trail down Bruce's chest as she kissed him slowly, turning a bit cold again; overcompensating for her overwhelming emotion. She wanted to give up, just this once. And that's exactly what she planned on doing. "Do your worst, Batman," she hissed against his lips, grinning as she pushed him back, pulling his pants down. Selina turned around on the bed and looked over her shoulder at him with a grin. "And don't spare the handcuffs, detective. I'm not holding back, and this is going to get rough." She purred, bending over.

* * *

"You're lucky I haven't killed you." Harley glared at Zucco before slamming the elevator cargo door shut in front of him and pressing the button to the top floor. She'd found it hard to keep her word to Dick; the mobster suddenly looked so smug to her. The whole walk back to Arkham, if he'd said anything, she'd stare him down until he took to walking behind her with his hands in his pockets.

The elevator was almost to the top floor when she remembered her panic. _I don't know what ta do_. She chewed on the inside of her cheek as the elevator lurched to a stop. "Puddin, I'm home," she called, pushing the door up and stepping out. He didn't respond, and she stared at the closed office door. "I was back out in Uptown," she tried again. Still nothing. She could just walk away right now, and nothing would change. Go back to the bedroom and pretend nothing had happened. She bit her lip. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to lie to him anymore. _Sorry Dick._ Looking down at her feet, she sighed quietly to herself. "Nightwing showed up."

"Who did what now?" he asked, shuffling out of the bedroom. The sleeves of his Arkham jumpsuit were tied around his waist, his white tank top practically blending into his pale skin. His hair was messy, his eyes still glassy from sleep. Joker ran his hands through his hair and over his face. "Why are you shouting?" Harley glanced at his closed office door then back at him.

"Oh," she mumbled. "Just updating you about my day." She beamed at him.

"Good I guess," he waved his hand dismissively. "God, who is shouting?!" he barked, rubbing his temples.

"Um," Harley looked around, "no one?"

"Don't talk back to me," he hissed, looking up at her darkly. Harley flinched back. He twitched and scratched at his ear. He ran his hands over his arms and looked over his shoulder.

"Puddin?" she asked uncertainly. "What's wrong?"

"She _is._ Isn't she? Aren't you?" Joker cocked his head at her. He looked absolutely livid.

"I'm what!?" she cried. He was starting to worry her, and she stepped back.

"What did you say?!" he shouted, pulling at his hair.

"I didn't say anything!" Her legs ran into the back of the couch. "You're startin' ta scare me."

Joker burst into laughter. "You said _Nightwing,_ " he reminded her, grinning. He didn't advance on her, but he scratched at his ear again and then covered them. "God damn it-" he shook his head so violently that he fell off balance, knocking the lamp off of the table. It fell with a crash and he screamed, scrambling away from it. Harley flinched.

"I said he showed up in Uptown today," she said hastily. Joker turned on her, getting shakily to his feet.

"He showed up in Uptown today," he choked.

"Yeah." She watched him carefully. "I was at the place I stay at in Uptown, and he showed up."

"He showed up," Joker repeated, scratching his arms so angrily that he left red marks.

"I didn't know he was gonna, I swear." She stepped back toward him. "He hasn't even been in Uptown in a while."

"Been in Uptown in a while..." He looked down, shaking his head vigorously again.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. She moved closer to him, peeking under at his face.

"I'm _fine,_ " he weakly pushed her away, taking a shaky breath. He glanced at her unsurely. "Did you speak to him?!"

"Ye-yeah," Harley stuttered. "I mean we fought… but we also talked."

"Of course you did," he spat, and then turned around as if to address a jury. "Of course she did."

"Puddin," she put a hand on his shoulder, "there's no one else here," she told him gently.

"Don't touch me." He pushed her hand away, stumbling back.

"You're… you're having some kind of episode. You need to calm down. Maybe you should lay down?" she suggested.

"No!" he shouted back, pulling away from her. "I'm not going to let you strap me down like- like I'm still in Arkham!" he screamed, rushing towards the elevator.

"Mistah J!" Harley was thrown off balance for a second, but she chased after him. Joker tried to pull the door down, but he fell and stumbled back against the wall and landed on the floor, staring at it. "Mistah J," she repeated quieter, cautiously edging into the elevator. "You need to try and calm down." She held her hands up in a sign of surrender as she knelt beside him. "Please." He stared straight at her, a dead look in his eyes. He didn't answer. "Please," she begged. He again remained completely still, staring into space. She hesitated, reaching a hand out to touch his cheek. "Puddin?"

"Don't _call_ me that," he muttered. She swallowed hard.

"Let's… let's just… go back inside." She tried to carefully stand him back up. He followed her, his actions barely his own; he only responded to her guidance, still staring at the floor. She led him back into the bedroom, pushing him gently into the bed. "Just try and relax, okay?"

Joker looked up at her, nearly looking past her, and he sighed quietly. He looked away. "Kill him." Harley had been pulling the blankets over him, and she froze.

"Wh-what?"

"You heard me."

"You want me to..." She stepped back. "No. Why? _Why_?"

"Why do you see him?" he asked, staring at the wall. His voice was cruelly amused, and his face hovering on the cusp of a grin. He looked entertained.

"I... I don't know." She crossed her arms across her chest.

"And why can't you complete a simple task?"

"I'm sorry," she whimpered.

"So kill him. Bring back his head." She looked away from him.

"I can't do that," she whispered.

"And why not?" He remained still.

"Because... because I don't want to," she answered truthfully. "And I don't want you to kill him. But what am I supposed at do? Lock myself up here and die of boredom?"

"You think becoming a traitor is a good alternative?" he asked, smiling.

"I'm not a traitor," she breathed, hurt that he'd say it. "I never meant to see him again. You know that."

"Do I?" He grinned vacantly. Every word out of his mouth was backhanded and questioning.

"I'm not the one who killed all my friends and left me alone," she defended. He fell silent again, still smiling.

 _Kill him._

Harley pursed her lips as she waited for him to say something. She didn't know where to go from here. He remained silent, and it became unbearable. The guilt started gnawing at her. She really had tried to stay away from Dick, but didn't know what to do now that she realized she couldn't. Joker had every right to not forgive her for that; she just kept hurting him with this. He'd asked her to stay with him, but the moment she'd seen Dick again, she'd broken her word.

"Please say something," she begged. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Be mad at me, scream at me, just… please say something."

"Bring him to me," he hissed. Harley blinked in surprise.

"I don't know if I'll ever see him again," she breathed.

"Are you _lying_ to me, Harley? Harleen?! Doctor, are you _fibbing_?!" He grinned darkly, his eyes flashing. He shot up off of the bed, grabbing her face. "Tell me the truth, or I'll cut out your tongue," he spat. "Do you _want_ to see him again?" Her hands reached up to grab his, but she didn't dare pull them away.

"He-he wants to meet again, and-and it's nice to have someone to talk to," she admitted, her eyes wide.

"So you do want to see him again. You don't like me? Am I not good enough for you? You don't _care_ anymore, do you?! Not since that bat-brat came into play. Well well well, two can play in this pissing contest," he laughed, a horribly shrill and ominous sound she always heard when he was about to blow away one of his own goons or torture his next victim. In this case- her. Joker pulled a pocketknife out of his pocket. "Hold still," he growled, gritting his teeth in a grin.

"Puddin," she gasped. She pried his hand off her face and backed up until she hit the wall. "Please. I _do_ love you. Please I'm sorry."

"You've got a funny way of showing it." He grinned cruelly, strolling across the room towards her. He grabbed her neck, pushing her against the wall. "This is all your fault. If you had any self control, I wouldn't have to punish you," he laughed.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, her hands clawing at his. Her mind flashed back to a darker night, another man holding her to a wall. She struggled against him. Joker caught her hands and pulled them above her head, holding her there. He was deceptively strong, overpowering her as he delicately brought the knife up under her chin.

"Shhhh shhh shh," he chided quietly, grinning. He watched her until she fell still, only trembling a bit, her lips shut tight. "Don't. Move." His hand loosened, and there was a brief moment where she thought he may let go- before he brought the knife back and slashed just under her collarbone. She gasped in surprise and pain, trying to free her hands again. His hand was quick as he cut her again, and then released her hands and let her fall to the floor, blood dripping from the 'J' slashed over her heart. He laughed cruelly and leaned down to look at her. "Sorry, _Puddin,_ " he purred, grabbing her face to make her look at him. "If you're going to betray me again, he may as well know who he's up against," he grinned and released her, laughing as he walked out of the room.

Harley whimpered, trying to look down at the gashes. She touched around it gently but cried out at the pain it caused. Her fingers came back bloody, and she stared at them. _You're making a mess._ She let out a sob as she stood up and stumbled to the bathroom. She froze at the sight of herself in the mirror.

Her eyes were red. Black mascara ran down her cheeks, flushed pink. The red blood stood out the most against her stark white skin, the deep color of the sliced flesh a sharp contrast against the white. She sank onto the toilet seat, crying harder as she stared at the blood on her hands. She'd never be able to see Dick again. It'd always be with her. The constant reminder of who she was, where she belonged, who she belonged to.

* * *

"I know we're not supposed to be here," Jason called, "but let's not get too excited that we're back early or they might send us back out." He helped the woman pick up the canned vegetables she'd spilled across the floor. They'd gotten back from their supply run with time to spare, and everyone was excited to utilize it. Jason had finished checking in and was overseeing the last of the unloading. Once the truck was taken to be prepped for the next trip, he headed over to the elevator. He scooped his helmet up along the way, having taken to wearing his mask around more often especially around the tower. He's still wore the helmet on Arkham or city patrol, but tended to wear the mask more often on supply run, and almost always took his helmet off when they were unloading if it was still on. As soon as the doors were closed behind him, and it was moving, he leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Dick had taken Selina and Steph off a lot of rotation, which he totally agreed with, but it meant the rest of them were working a lot more. The break days were too short and far between it felt like.

The elevator stopped, and Jason opened his eyes. It wasn't his floor, but he didn't bother to put his helmet on; he knew whose floor it was.

Ivy stepped in, glancing at him with her mouth set in a hard line. She moved beside him and stared straight ahead as she crossed her arms over her chest. The fabric of her short gray tank top was pulled up higher, and Jason stared at the stretch of bare skin above her jean shorts.

"I heard you were back early."

"Hmmm?" Jason swung his eyes lazily back up to her face; she was staring at the elevator doors as they went up. "Yup." He'd given her a comm so that she could keep up on what was happening since Bruce didn't trust her out of the tower alone. She ended up spending a lot of time by herself, or with Selina, and occasionally Kate. "Are you stalking me?"

"Don't flatter yourself." The elevator stopped on his floor, and she stepped out. She knew the way to his room, so she walked forward without him. She barely noticed people' eyes that followed her anymore. It was such a common occurrence with the way she looked, but she was aware of his and smiled to herself.

She pushed the door to his room open and headed straight for the sink. "You know," Jason said as he shrugged off his jacket, "when I said you could keep a few plants in here, I didn't mean a whole greenhouse." Ivy smirked at him as she filled the watering can up. Her room was a veritable jungle, and Jason had let her take over his unused kitchen table with a few plants. Flowerpots of varying fawna covered the table in front of the bay window overlooking the city. Ivy turned the sink off and walked over to start watering them.

"At least I didn't bring any poisonous ones up here." She glanced over at him as he sank onto the couch. "Besides, you wanted to me to be helpful."

"And how is my room smelling like an Earl May helpful?"

"There are not that many plants in here," she defended.

"There are at least a dozen plants on that table! And some of them are the size of trees."

"You're exaggerating." She set the watering can on the floor beside the table. "Either that or you mask is distorting your vision."

"I can see through my mask just fine." Jason grinned.

"I'm starting to doubt that."

"You could just say you want me to take it off," Jason chuckled. This was now his preferred way to get under her skin. She glared at him, grinding her teeth together.

"Only if you want to."

Jason burst into laughter as the door to his room opened. "Oh sorry," Steph apologized, seeing Ivy. "Heard supply was back early and thought I'd see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat before next shift change." She smirked at Jason, her Spoiler hood down around her neck. "But I can see you're busy."

"Go away Steph." He threw a pillow at the door as she ducked behind it and closed it.

"So she'll wear her mask off," Ivy said, "along with Selina, Kate, and Dick. But you won't take yours off?" He hadn't. At first it had been because Bruce had wanted to try and maintain their secret identities, but then it had just gone on too long. He was actually scared of how she'd react if she saw his face at this point. He'd known from the first time he'd seen her that she was older than him- closer to Bruce's age than his own- but with his helmet, she'd been unable to tell, and even with his mask he looked older. Besides, having break only every few days hadn't really brought many chances to move forward any sort of relationship between them.

"Well they want to, and I thought you said it was if I wanted to."

Ivy crossed her arms. "I'm starting to think you're avoiding it." She hadn't really thought about what life in Gotham would be like, but it wouldn't have been this. Everyone was so busy. The only time she got to see Jason was his breaks, and Batman had put him in charge of taking her to check on the Gotham food production capabilities. She got the impression that in spite of Selina and Jason, Batman didn't trust her yet.

"Why would I be avoiding it?" he challenged.

"I don't know. Why won't you take your mask off?"

"Maybe I have a horribly disfiguring scar," he suggested.

"Well, maybe I want to see it."

"Is this you asking?"

"Ye-maybe." She glared at him. "If I am?"

"If I say no?"

"Just take your damn mask off," she cried.

"Maybe later."

"Let me see your face." She moved toward him, reaching for his mask, but he grabbed her arms.

"Nope." He laughed as she tried to twist around to grab the mask. She fell onto the couch beside him, and he pinned her arms.

"Stop being so stubborn," she complained.

"But that's what you like about me." He smirked, holding both of her wrists in one hand, and she still couldn't free them.

"Let me see."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!" She glared at him. "Okay fine." He sighed and released her wrists. Ivy paused for a second before slowly reaching up and taking his mask off. He pursed his lips as she studied him.

"You're…" He was young, and… pretty. If he cleaned up and shaved, she could picture him in a tie in suit. While his jaw and brow were heavy, his blue green eyes were light and teasing, as if amused by her reaction. "Hideous," she finally said. He chuckled, running a hand across his jaw.

"I tried to warn you. I'm pretty much the real life Phantom of the Opera."

"Just so ugly." She smiled when he laughed.

"Well aren't you the charmer. I thought you were supposed to be a master at seducing not offending."

"I am," she defended, "just not with you."

Jason let out a brisk laugh. "I'll take that as a compliment." Ivy studied him.

"Why?" She couldn't understand why she couldn't seem to get to him. He'd seemed interested, but over the past month nothing had happened. It was refreshing to have a challenge instead of the men that she usually faced; not that they lasted long anyway. She wondered if she would have killed Jason too if he'd been like them. But he wasn't just hard to win over, he seemed genuinely uninterested at this point. It hurt. She couldn't win him over, and couldn't help but wonder if he didn't like her. There's never been someone who hadn't found her attractive since she became Poison Ivy, and it wounded her to think he didn't like her. "Is it a good thing to... not like me?" She sounded weak in her own ears. She'd never needed confirmation before. It was something the human her would have asked for. And she was never sure how human she was anymore; but this felt very human.

"What!? No! That's- it's not- no." He leaned his head back and rubbed his eyes as he sighed. Ivy reached a tentative hand toward him.

"Then what?" She ran her hand across his chest. "Do you not find me attractive?"

Jason groaned. " _That_ is definitely not it." Ivy beamed. He still had his eyes closed so he couldn't see the relief on her face. She'd been worried he'd found her too strange, too green, too old, too... not his type. Too inhuman. Her smile turned sly. She bet she could be his type.

His eyes flew open when she straddled his waist. "Wha-"

"Then if there's no problem," she whispered in his ear, her hands trailing down to the waistline of his shirt.

"Ivy," he gasped and grabbed her hands. "No." He held her back. "No."

"But you-" If she could blush, her cheeks would have been bright red. The rejection stung. Maybe he _did_ see her as the monster she really was. "You said you wanted me."

"I do," he sighed. She was there, right on top of him. And God did he want her.

"But then why? Is it me?"

"No. I'm clearly attracted to you."

"And it's clearly not you, so what is it?"

"It's... Ivy... I don't..."

"You don't what? Want to do this?" She was getting angry. She would barely admit to herself that he was part of the reason she'd been okay with coming to Gotham.

"I do."

"Then what?!"

"I don't want to be one of those guys!" he cried. He stared at her and took a deep breath. "I don't want you to think," he said slowly, "I'm one of the guys who just wants you because you're hotter than any other woman who walks in the room. Yes, okay, you succeeded at seducing me a long time ago just like every other easily manipulated man. But... I didn't want you to think that's why I wanted to be with you. I don't just want you for sex and... I didn't," he groaned. "There's just no non dorky way to say that." He rubbed his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch.

Ivy stared at him. All men were pigs who took what they wanted, consequences be damned. She'd always found it the biggest deterrent to wanting to keep her humanity. She wanted to protect nature above all, but she'd found causes in protecting women and children. Harley and Selina were the only people she'd found for the longest time who'd cared about who she was more than the body she had to offer. Until now.

She grabbed his face, pulling it up to kiss him hard. Jason gasped in surprise but couldn't help but kiss her back. She clung onto his shirt, and his hands trailed up to her shoulders. Suddenly, he pushed her back, sucking in a deep breath and staring at her with a mix of pain and confusion.

"Did you just poison me?"

"What?" she cried. "Oh my God!"

"You just poisoned me!" he accused. Ivy stood up in a panic as he listed to the side clutching his chest.

"Oh God, oh no. I didn't mean to!" She put her hands over her mouth. "You just said those really nice things and I got really excited. I'm so sorry." She moved back over to him, and he smirked through the pain.

"You got excited? You like me." He fell down across the couch.

"Stop talking and let me kiss you with the antidote," she demanded. She leaned down over him.

"You like me so much you lost control and poisoned me." He put a hand on her shoulder, the other still clutching his chest.

"Do you want to die? Just let me kiss you!"

"And you wanna kiss me again." Ivy rolled her eyes and pulled his face up to kiss her before he could say anything else.

"You moron," she accused as he started coughing. "I could've killed you."

"I always knew you'd be toxic for me," he laughed and coughed at the same time.

"I'm so sorry." she cried. Jason laughed harder. "This isn't funny!"

"Yeah it is." He grinned up at her. "Oh come on, Buttercup," Ivy's stomach jumped at the nickname, it'd been a long time since he'd used one, "it's hilarious."

"What if you'd died?"

"Then you would've felt very bad."

"Jason!" she objected, but he pulled her back down to kiss him. His hand cupped her cheek gently.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You make me lose control too." Ivy smiled, relaxing. She climbed back on the couch, lying above him. "Gonna give me another heart attack?" He grinned.

"How about something much better?" She placed her hands beside his head as she leaned above him, adjusting her hips into place against his. Jason clenched his jaw to hold back a moan and grabbed her hips.

"Do I need to get some rubber that's immune to your charms?" he asked with a grin.

"Stop talking." She grabbed his face. She kissed him softly this time. "You know," she broke off the kiss to murmur against his lips, "you're the one who said I'm the hottest one in any room."

"And you know it," he chuckled.

"Just making sure. I can't be with someone who doesn't have good taste." She smirked and locked her legs around his waist to hold herself upright. She leaned down to kiss him, her hands moving down to undo his pants. His breath gasped past his lips, and he quickly pulled her tank top off. She frantically pulled his shirt off as well before he pulled her back down to kiss her desperately again. They weren't trying to win each other over anymore. They needed each other.

Ivy's hair fell down around them as he unclasped her bra, pulling her back down against him as she worked his pants down past his hips. Jason's comm crackled to life.

"Jason, shift change time. Get your ass to Arkham," Dick's voice came through the comm in his ear.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Jason complained, staring up at Ivy.

"Nope, sorry," Dick laughed. "Trust me, Selina is just as pissed. You guys can vent to each other." Jason didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"Ten more minutes?"

"I want to say yes, but Selina is already out there. Bruce won't like it."

"But you're going to say yes anyway?" Jason asked hopefully.

"Sorry kid." Dick laughed. He could hear Jason groan before pausing again.

"I've been told to warn you to watch your back."

"Oh I believe you," Dick agreed, walking across the bridge into Downtown. He glanced down the streets to the left and right, the sun just breaking on the horizon.

"And that's just from Ivy. You don't want to know what I have planned for you," Jason warned.

"Mmhm," Dick said sarcastically, watching over his shoulder as he walked further into the populated area of Gotham. It was spooky in the early morning, as dead as the rest of the world with no one out and about.

The main comm line beeped, and he switched it. "I stopped for a quick meal, but Batwoman starting Gotham shift," Kate updated as she left the tower.

"Supply run all ready to head out," Cass added quietly.

"Good and good. Robin, in for break?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Nightwing, I'll feed your dog for you," he responded. Dick laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thanks, Robin. Red Hood, are you about to your post?"

"No, but I'm in the elevator. I promise."

"Good. Stay safe, everyone." Dick muted his comm again. He couldn't help feeling giddy, after talking to Harley yesterday. He'd known that he missed her, he just didn't know how much. Still, there was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind on whether or not he'd actually see her again. What if she didn't come back?

Dick kicked a pebble down the street. Their conversation about Zucco had bothered him. Never mind that the man who killed his parents was still alive, which he'd hoped he wasn't; but Harley had posed a question he'd deliberated so many times in his youth. They all had, everyone under Batman's employ; wondered if there would ever be a time when killing was the justified, righteous, correct course of action.

The answer was always no.

Now Dick could see the difficulty. He'd always believed that the world wasn't so black and white as some people, even as Batman, saw it, and everything in his life reflected it: Damian's upbringing, Jason's twisted past; the death of his parents bringing a new family, or even his walk-the-line career as a vigilante. Was it any wonder that the woman he now loved conformed to that pattern? His heart beat for her, and he knew that she could and would easily stop it.

He was nearing the populated neighborhoods now. It was past the time of day when the crop workers and farmers went to the small fields growing food in the parks, and the streets were quiet.

Just then he heard the patter of bare feet on concrete, and he stopped. It was so faint he wasn't even sure he'd heard it, but when he began walking again, there it was. Dick spun around in time to see- no one. There was no one there.

He turned in a circle again. The sun rising on the horizon was starting to heat the pavement, and Dick quickly pulled his hair up into a loose bun to get it off of his neck. No sooner had his hands fallen back to his sides than a scream sounded somewhere close by.

In fact, from directly below him.

Dick looked down at his boots in shock, staring into the darkness through the holes in the rusty manhole cover. in a split second decision, he planted his boots firmly on either side of the cover, slipping his fingers through the holes.

"Bats I may have a situation here," Dick commented, straining with the weight of the metal. He pried it up, grunting as he tossed it aside.

"Do you need backup?" Bruce asked, instantly alert.

"I'll let you know if I do. I heard a scream from the sewers, it sounded young. Could just be a kid fallen and trapped." Dick jumped down the hole, landing in the rain water washed down the gutters in the storms before.

"I'll inform Batwoman in case she needs to respond."

"Of course," Dick muted his comm, and then he pressed the button on the side of his mask that turned on his night vision. His hand hesitated over the gun in its holster, but he pulled out his escrima sticks instead. If the conversation with Harley had had any effect on him or not, it had certainly reminded him that he was far too reliant on the gun. He wasn't a killer.

Dick started forward into the dark.


	32. The One With The Cult

Scarecrow jumped when someone banged on the heavy metal door of the Arkham operating room. He looked up from the zombie he had strapped to the old rusted table and stared at the door for a moment. Placing his tools back on the table, he went over to open it, wiping his hands nervously on his pants. He cracked the door a little and a wave of relief washed over him when he saw it was Harley.

"I need a favor." Her jacket was zipped up to her neck despite the summer heat in the unairconditioned building. She tugged at the zipper. "But only if you promise not to get mad."

"I can't get mad at you, dear," he said quietly, guiding her into the room before he closed the door. "What do you need?"

"I, uh," she looked down at her shoes, "you have the medical supplies... so..."

"What did he do to you?" Crane's voice turned grave, gray eyes fixed on her. Harley opened her mouth to argue but closed it meekly. She took a deep breath and slowly unzipped her jacket. She winced; the bleeding had slackened off, but the jagged edges hurt when the jacket rubbed against them. She wouldn't meet Crane's eyes, folding the jacket over her arm and meticulously smoothing a crease out with her thumb. He sighed quietly and held her pigtail out of his way as he examined the jagged 'J' carved into her skin.

* * *

Dick waded through the rain water, holding his breath against the stink of the stale sewage. The only thing keeping him moving forward was the occasional scream, and the thought that he'd get first dibs on a shower once his shift was up. Something thick and wet dripped from the ceiling of the tunnel and onto his head.

 _Ok, maybe as soon as I get out of here,_ he thought, fighting the urge to throw up as the glob of whatever it was- he didn't want to know- dripped down his head and slipped off his shoulder. He shuddered and trudged on. He could hear scuffling somewhere down the tunnel, and he wasn't sure if it was behind him or in front of him. The green haze that was his vision through the night lenses was still too dark to see, and useless when it came to the Infected; they were technically dead. Their bodies didn't register on the lenses because they gave off no heat. Which also made it incredibly unsettling as Dick could hear the scratching growing closer, yet he could see absolutely nothing in the darkness of the tunnel. The thick paste dripped on his head again and he groaned, gagging as he waded towards the sides of the tunnel and attempted to wipe it off of his head. He glanced at his hand before attempting to wipe it on his pants, but he froze and lifted it up to his face again. His heart nearly stopped at the sight of the thick, black blood spiderwebbing between his fingers. Swallowing hard, he looked up.

* * *

"How long ago did this happen?" Crane pushed his cracked glasses further up his nose as he gently ran a thumb over the cut on Harley's skin. She bit her lip at the pressure.

"Half a day give or take."

Crane sighed slowly. "I'm afraid we'll have to stitch it, I don't want to leave it open. I'm sorry. I'm going to give you something for the pain," he said gently. "It's strong, if that's alright?" He shoved through some drawers. "Like, leftover Arkham strong."

"That's fine," Harley sighed. It had taken her a while to reconcile the fact she wouldn't be able to hide it. She'd still worn her jacket here though. "No chance it's not gonna leave a scar, huh?" she joked, giving a forced laugh.

"None," Crane responded sadly. She sat on a free examination table, glancing over at the zombie.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I mean, of course you're doing something, I'm just... I'm sorry." She felt like she was screwing everything up with everyone.

"He's dying," he glanced it the zombie. "I'm trying to figure out why. He's not badly decayed, and he's one of my test subjects. He..." The zombie groaned pitifully. "He's in pain and distraught," Crane watched it for a moment before walking back to Harley. He carefully injected her with the needle in his hand. "This should take away the pain and fight infection," he explained, and then moved over to her shoulder so he could better examine the cut.

* * *

Dick sprinted as fast as he could. The walls of the tunnel had a small ledge above the water, maybe six inches wide, and it was his only option. He'd be too slow if he had to wade through the sewage, but the ledge was slimy. It was difficult to keep his footing even with his high wire training, and he slipped, catching himself along the wall. The Infected was scurrying behind him, somehow crawling along the ceiling. Dick rounded a corner, running down another tunnel.

"Batman!" he pressed his comm. "I'm being tailed by two Infected in the sewers, maybe more-" a scream sounded ahead of him in the tunnels, the same as before- the scream of a small child. Dick pushed forward. "Batwoman. Locate my tracer, I need backup."

"Dick, there's too much interference down there. Do you have any idea where you are?"

Sprinting blindly down the tunnels; he'd turned so many times. He wasn't sure anymore. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But I don't exactly feel like dying down here."

His boot caught a pipe jutting out from the wall and he slipped, crying out as he fell forward into the murky darkness of the soiled water.

* * *

"What's wrong with him?" Harley watched the zombie more intently. "I thought they only felt blood lust?"

"Hypnosis combined with the fear toxin. The dying was an... unexpected side effect?" Crane cleaned the wound carefully, his jaw set tight.

"Something in the fear toxin or something in the hypnosis?" Harley flinched and then tried to sit as still as possible. "The fear toxin alone didn't kill them."

"No. I'm not sure, I was studying them. Only he began dying, the rest are fine. I don't have a local anesthetic, but the pain killers should kick in soon, and hard; you haven't had a lot of food lately. You're gonna feel a little woozy." Crane finished prepping her and threaded a needle, pinching the cut as closed as much as possible and pulling the first stitch though.

"Whoa." Harley grabbed the edges of her chair. Everything had started swaying. "You weren't lying. Ya gave me the good stuff." Her whole body started to feel heavy all at once, her brain going fuzzy.

"Yes," he chuckled, helping her lay back on a table. "How did this happen, Harley?" he asked, pulling another stitch through. She could barely feel it and giggled at the feeling of it tugging at her skin.

"I, uh, I was naughty. He punished me." She lifted her head up to see what he was doing. Crane glanced at her and then pushed her head back down with a finger on her forehead.

"He shouldn't have."

"I know," she sighed. She started tapping her feet together. "Cuz he was mad cuz I'm not supposed ta see Dick." She giggled. "Sometimes that name is really unfortunate out of context."

"Shhhhh don't laugh too much while I'm stitching," he chided gently.

"Oh cheer up, Scary, my man." She reached up and pushed the corners of his mouth up. "Turn that frown upside down."

* * *

Dick came up out of the water, coughing and trying not to vomit. It was in his mouth, it was in his eyes; he spun around, trying to wipe away the stinging as it got worse. Dick gasped and stumbled back. He had to keep running. He could hear the Infected growling, but they hadn't attacked him. Dick coughed and took off down the tunnel again, tearing his mask off in an attempt to rub some of the sewage out of his eyes.

"Batwoman-" he reached up to his ear to press his comm, but it wasn't there. "Damn it!" Dick shouted angrily. It must have fallen out when he'd gotten turned over in the water.

"Hello?! Help me!" a voice cried in the darkness down the tunnel. Dick tried to see through the burning in his eyes as he ran. He could hear them behind him, could feel them trying to tear at his clothes.

 _If I'm going to die, of course it'd be now. Right when I may have a chance with a girl I really like, it'll be snatched from me. I'll die covered in shit and ripped apart by God damn zombies_ , he thought in a panic. As he rushed down the tunnel, he thought that he could see light up ahead, but it was fuzzy through the stinging in his eyes. He could see the figure of a child, a little boy; he stood in the light, watching Nightwing race towards him. The end of the tunnel came fast and Dick tripped on the ledge again, catching himself at the boy's feet. He quickly stood and grabbed the kid's arm, dragging him towards another tunnel entrance. they'd come to a central maintenance station; there were many tunnels leading in different directions from a large, circular room. The boy pried Nightwing's hand off of his arm and stepped back, and that's when Dick looked around the room for the first time.

"Oh," he breathed. "Oh, no…"

* * *

"Why did you go see Nightwing again?" Crane asked, watching Harley in confusion as he continued to sew the cut on her skin.

"I didn't mean to." She dropped her arms back on the table. They felt suddenly heavy. "He just... showed up!"

"Of course," he spoke like a psychiatrist, smirking down at her a little. He finished what he was doing, a neatly stitched 'J' just under her collar bone.

"See! And that's what I tried ta tell Mistah J." She shook her head incredulously, blinking slowly. "Apparently that is not what he wanted ta hear."

"Yes. You should stick around here until that medicine wears off. I'll radio to Joker where you are, so this doesn't happen again," Crane cleaned his hands off, watching her. "You're not in any pain, correct?" Harley laughed at his question.

"What pain? I don't even have a body anymore."

"Good," Crane chuckled, turning back to the zombie. Harley stared at the ceiling for a while before looking around in confusion.

"I thought you'd left."

"Me?" Crane glanced up with a smile. "No, dear, I'm still here," the zombie whimpered pitifully at him. "It's so... Odd. I've never seen them so... Human."

"I'll take your word for it it, doctor." She rubbed her eyes vigorously. "I want a pillow," she whined. Crane slipped his white lab coat off of his shoulders and balled it up, pushing it under her head to prop it up. "Go ahead and keep talking," she yawned. "I'm listening. I promise."

* * *

"Welcome, Bat-Prince," a man called. He literally stood on a soapbox with his arms outstretched, and Dick blinked hard, trying to figure out where one would have come from. His vision was still hazy and the smell of the sewage drenching his clothes and hair was dizzying. Only then did he realize that he'd taken his mask off, and he quickly put it back over his eyes, wiping the lenses. "Come now, there's no need for that. We're all anonymous here, and we don't have masks."

The gathered group of people kneeling in neat rows in front of the soapbox all turned to look at him, and Dick had to fight the urge to vomit again. Blood was smeared over each one of their eyes, black, thick, pasty blood; the boy tugged his hand, and Dick saw that he, too, had Infected blood smeared over his face. Dick recoiled in shock, falling back into the water. The Infected stalked towards him from the dark, and he scrambled away again.

"Come, brothers and sisters, let us welcome our new member. Let us show him the way," the leader called, a southern accent drowning his words. Dick looked around the cavernous room, dimly lit with half burned candles and a single, open manhole at the top of the ceiling. A ladder led up to it, in the dead center of the room, where the man was preaching from. This had all the markings of a cult. But why hadn't they heard about it before?

"What the hell is this?" Dick shouted, looking around at them. The boy had lured him here. The Infected stayed towards the outside of the room with their captors, in the dark, watching Dick with bloodlust in their eyes.

"It's the truth, Bat-Prince, and we shall show it to you."

Dick screamed as the horrible burning of a taser ripped through his body.

* * *

"What are you going to do when the Joker gets fed up with your toy and disposes of it, Harley?" Crane suddenly asked as he picked up a notebook and scribbled something by a poorly drawn doodle of a cartoon ghost. They hadn't talked for nearly twenty minutes. "He's already proved he'll do it, and it's only a matter of time before even I am put down. What will you do when he turns to Nightwing?"

"At least I picked a toy that can fight back," Harley sighed. She pointed a finger up at the ceiling as she counted the ceiling tiles. She lost count and started over.

"Against the Joker?" he said quietly.

"What?" She giggled, lifting her head up to look at him. He frowned a little.

"You think he'll hold up against the Joker? You're throwing a terrier into a dogfight with a mastiff. An experienced one, at that." Crane put his notebook down, crossing his arms.

"I'm not doing anything with dogs," Harley defended. "Dick took the puppy and everything."

"It's a-" he groaned and rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that Dick will be able to fight off the Joker?" He clarified.

"Why are they fighting?" she asked. "Why can't everyone just get along? I just... want... both."

"You can't have both. They aren't on the same team, Harley. _Who_ would win aside, what would you do if one did win? What if Nightwing takes down the Joker? What if the Joker kills Nightwing?" Crane looked unnaturally engaged in the conversation, looking at her with uncertainty in his eyes. "What would you do then? You can't have both. You can't keep this up- oh forget it," he sighed. "There's no sense reasoning with you on a normal day, much less when you're drugged."

"I know I can't _have_ both," she said like it was obvious. "I just want both. I just _want_ it to stay just as it is." She stared at the ceiling. "I don't wanna have to choose. I don't wanna have ta hurt someone. I just want it to be easy. I know it can't be. But I just wish."

"We all do," Crane assured her.

* * *

"Batwoman, status report," Batman commanded.

"I'm trying, damn you," she snapped back. "I found the point of entry, and I'm headed in now. There isn't any sense in you coming out yet, I'm sure his communicator just lost connection like his tracer. There is a lot of old piping down here, a lot of interference…" She turned the night vision on in her mask, scanning her surroundings in the sewer. "Smells lovely down here," Kate commented.

"Be professional. And find him." Batman ordered.

"I am! My computer is already picking up more signals below ground. Feeding them to you," she held up the minicomputer on her arm towards the light of the manhole cover. "Wow, he wasn't kidding, the signal is shit."

"Bruce, can you try hijacking any of the dormant NASA satellites?" Barbara asked quietly. "If we could get a broader range for the signal, we may be able to hold onto the communications for a bit longer."

* * *

"Well at least you don't just want to bang one and love the other," Scarecrow shrugged with a laugh. He and Harley had been talking for a while, and he'd barely done any work. Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to.

"Yeah. Wait no." She lifted her head up to look at him. "I wanna bang 'em both." She threw her arms out in frustration. "Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten any?! Mistah J's all busy and won't really even look at me cuz 'a Nightwing. But I haven't even seen him in so long! And I tried to stay away, I really did. But then I can't live without Puddin. And..." She squinted at Crane. "When was the last time you got some?"

"If this is going where I think it's going, I don't think so," he laughed.

"What? Ew, no." She made a face at him before giggling. "Wait. Why? Do you like me?"

"Of course not," he chuckled. "I have... I... No. Of course not you, you have enough men in your life." Crane pushed his hair back. "And that is an interesting line of questioning, Harleykins." She giggled.

"You like me!" She pointed it him. "Scarecrow has a crush! You _likeee_ me." She wiggled around on the table as a form of dancing.

"No! I don't! I mean, you're so nice, but I'm... I'm not," he smiled. "I'm not... I don't like you... like... That."

Harley kept dancing on the table until she smacked her hand really hard on the side. She said, "ow," before she realized she couldn't feel it. She tapped her hand on the table a few times and grabbed her face. "I can't feel anything," she gasped. "Doctor what if I can't touch anything ever again?"

"Then consider your Joker vs Nightwing problem solved," Crane quipped. "Don't make me strap you down."

"What if I can't feel again?" She laid her head back down. "I just wanna be a real boy, Geppetto!"

"Pinocchio frightened me as a child," Crane thought aloud, and then walked to the zombie. He picked up his notebook again. "I'm attempting to establish some form of control by reanimating the fear center of the brain. This reignites the synapses rendered dormant by the disease, if only a few, but enough to utilize the most powerful feeling known to man. It proves they're still human. Fear can drive anything."

* * *

Dick groaned as he opened his eyes. In a daze, he thought he might still be at the hotel safe house, with Harley, but as he regained his senses, he could feel the burning pain of the taser burns on his lower back. He also became dimly aware of the light shining down from above him, and the ropes wrapped tightly around his wrists, holding him captive against the rusted steel of the ladder running up into the light. He was alert in an instant, yanking against the ropes as he looked around to assess his surroundings.

"...and the dead will rise and walk among us- This is how it was told- and the horsemen would come and we would go to the promised land but _these_ \- self proclaimed _gods_ -" The leader was gesturing to Dick now, and his jaw tightened. "Have kept us from that end! This is how it was written, and this is how it shall be!"

" _Insanity,_ " Dick muttered, watching the crowd. They'd been crying out in agreement, a mob of poorly influenced, mentally unsound psychopaths. The leader turned on him.

"It's not insanity, Bat-Prince, it's inhumanity," he turned back to the crowd. " _Inhumane_ to keep us from our proper end! To suspend us in this wasteland, this virtual purgatory, in which we wander without purpose and wait for an end that will never come!"

"What the hell…" Dick breathed, watching the crowd shriek in excitement.

"So we…" The leader's voice trembled with anticipation. "We are going to take our end. By any means necessary. And we're going to _show_ the rest of them that their false gods, these bat idols that they revere are no more than men!"

The crowd roared in excitement. Dick rolled his eyes and coughed, working the ropes to free his hands so he could get away from these crazies.

"Who will be our first to go into the world free of their hethenistic bodies; who will ascend and leave the Infected shell behind?" The leader barked. Dick froze.

 _They can't seriously be about to…_

The little boy raised his hand.

* * *

"Boo," Harley called. "Fear can also awaken your humanity and protective instincts. Boo." She rolled her head and stared at the zombie. "I mean if I gained consciousness scared and alone and woke up as a monster. I'd lose my will ta live too." She wiggled her fingers and made ghost noises by the zombie's face. Crane smiled at her a bit.

"Through hypnosis I think we can drive them towards the Gotham population. It's not control, it's like a sheepdog steering a herd. We're the dogs, and they're the bloodthirsty, fear-confused, murderous sheep."

"Wouldn't it be better to turn them into little zombie sheeple with you as their god?" She giggled. "We've seen that fear just makes them go..." She mimed her head exploding. "Just crazy all over the place with no control. I'd rather have them... like a three year old. Bloodthirsty little monsters running around who don't know right from wrong and do whatever you tell them. They are the puppets on the strings and no free will!" she giggled she stared at the zombie. "Do you like your free will?" she asked it. He stared back at her, his jaw working but no sound coming out.

"That's what they will be, for the most part. The fear is the only way I know to awaken those synopses again, and I need them to get to the zombie's subconscious. There has to be something to hypnotize," he explained.

"Okay, but does he look like he's gonna listen to you?" She pointed at the zombie. "I'm more likely to cause ya gave me this wonderful concoction." Harley glanced around the room. "Do you have any more?"

"He's not hypnotized yet, I'm not giving them commands I'm giving them something to fear, I have more, and no you may not have it," he pointed his pen at her.

"But it hurts," she pouted, trying not to smile.

"What hurts, Harleykins?" Scarecrow cocked his head, smirking.

"Um... my elbow." She grinned.

"Why does your elbow hurt?"

"Because I want more medication."

"You're persistent, I'll give you that," Crane laughed. Harley giggled.

"Does that mean I can have some?" she asked hopefully.

"No." He smiled a little, walking back towards the zombie.

* * *

" _Wait!_ " Dick screamed, yanking against the ropes on his arms.

"Are you ready, Kirk, my son," the leader beamed proudly at the boy. He couldn't be more than ten years old. "Are you ready to ascend?"

"Yes, Father," he grinned, speaking with the same southern drawl as his father. The crowd fell silent, nearly thirty faces watching the man and his child standing in front of them. The boy had lured Nightwing down here to this hellish nightmare, and now Dick would have to watch what happened next without being able to do a single damn thing about it. He mentally cursed himself for the situation he was in, yanking so hard against the ropes that the metal ladder creaked.

"Good boy," the man knelt, looking out at the crowd. "He is not the first, and he is one of many to be saved! May god smile on you, son," he beamed. "And say hello to your mother as soon as you get there," he said quieter, his eyes blazing with his misguided faith.

"Stop this! This is crazy!" Dick shouted. He was four feet from them, but he may as well have been four miles. He could see the knife in the father's hand behind his back, a dull kitchen knife, and he screamed as the father raised it and drove it through the boy's chest. The crowd cheered, and Dick gasped for breath, still staring at the handle in the son's Gotham Zoo t-shirt. He watched the blood spread over the fabric, the light leave the boy's eyes; the father cradled him and lifted him to show the crowd.

Dick couldn't breathe. Blood rushed in his ears, his vision blurring and fury welling in his throat.

"You _murderer_!" he shouted so loudly that the crowd hushed. The father froze, and then he laid his son on the pavement and turned to Nightwing.

"False gods make false accusations," he muttered, cocking his head. "I've saved his soul, and now I will damn yours." He turned to the crowd, shouting again as his son twitched in his arms, his blood clotting black. "We will punish these false idols! Punish the Batman-" he pointed back at Dick- "by taking his firstborn."

* * *

After examining the zombie in silence, Crane cleared his throat. "How is… how is Poison Ivy, did she… is she ok? Did she get out?"

"I never get any," she muttered to herself. He looked at her confusedly.

"Of the meds? Fine, take a bit more," Crane sighed, his back to her as he worked. "Don't blame me if you get hooked on the stuff. There's a finite amount. Don't come crying once you've used it up."

"Yay!" she cheered and tried to sit up, falling back. "Where is it?"

"On the desk by the windows." Harley lifted her head up to look toward where he'd indicated.

"Can you bring it to me?"

Crane let out an exasperated sigh and walked over, grabbing the bottle and the needle, and taking it to Harley. He slammed it down on the table beside her and went back to his work. She stared at the bottle then at him.

"Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not," he laughed anxiously. "I'm just trying to- I'm working. And you're… you're… are you hungry?" Crane suddenly looked up, looking over his shoulder at her.

"I don't… think so." She couldn't tell. "I just feel tired." She closed her eyes before opening them again. "Am I in the way? I'm in the way." She rolled to the side of the table, her head still woozy. "I can go."

"You're not going anywhere in the state you're in," Crane caught her before she could roll off of the table. "One, because I'm worried you might go back to Nightwing, and two, because I don't think you'd make it there."

"I can make it," she insisted although she didn't believe herself. "And this table's really hard."

"Then come with me," he smiled a little, helping her up and picking his lab coat up from the table before guiding her away out the door.

* * *

Dick's heart pounded in his chest as he watched the crowd around him. The dead boy had been placed at his feet in a grotesque sitting position, still twitching as his infected blood began to reanimate his corpse. The father backed away, walking amongst the mob who watched the kid, mesmerized. Dick almost had his hands free, but the ropes were tight and he still felt numb and sick after watching that happen. No amount of violence could desensitize one to the complete brutality of the situation, and it was as if the entirety of the past year was crushing him. The boy moved his hands a bit, the lifeless soul that inhabited Infected bodies working his limbs like a marionette warming up a puppet. Dick had lived through an apocalypse, yet the horror of the mass pandemic and deaths that followed couldn't prepare him for the moment when a new victim turned; it was a scarring experience to watch lifeless eyes, once human, now dead as the winter; they stared straight ahead as the Infected bit into human flesh.

Which, Dick realized, would be him in less than a minute if he couldn't get those ropes off.

The boy's head snapped up and the people in the crowd gasped. Dick choked on his breath, watching the small face as it sniffed the air, shuffling forward a bit on its knees. The crowd had begun to chant, and he wasn't sure what they were saying anymore. His attention was entirely focused on the Infected as it tensed, teeth bared as it growled and lunged forward. Dick pushed off with his feet and flipped back and up, holding himself up on the ladder and hooking his boots on a rung just as the zombie slammed into the poles. Dick gasped shortly as he worked his hands out of the ropes-

-and then they slid, sending him flying off balance and falling down towards the infected' bared teeth.

* * *

"See I knew you liked me," she mumbled. The medication was forgotten; she wouldn't have been able to inject herself anyway. "I told you I didn't wanna play doctor."

"What do you mean by that?" he laughed.

"You don't have to try and seduce me." She giggled. "I have a man… and another man."

"I _don't_ have a- oh forget it," Crane shook his head, guiding her down to his makeshift living quarters. He'd adapted the head doctor's office into a place to stay, with barricaded windows and a couch with a pillow for a bed. "There, sit down over there," he pointed at the couch. "I'll make you some soup." Harley fell face first into the pillow.

"Your place is depressing," she told him.

"The dead don't seem to mind," he muttered, walking towards a tiny kitchenette that he'd set up for himself with a microwave and a hot plate.

"Well tell them they have terrible taste in decor." She wrapped her arms around the pillow, burying her face in it.

"I shall, when I meet them." Crane dumped a can of soup into a bowl and put it in the microwave, turning to her. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Just peachy, doctor," she mumbled into the pillow. "Did you wanna check my temperature?"

"That's not what I meant," he said solemnly, taking the soup out of the microwave.

"Well what did ya mean?" She yawned. "I'm not exactly great at double meanings at the moment."

"Joker shouldn't have done this to you. He's crossed a line," Crane clarified.

"But I crossed a line first," Harley objected. "And I'm the one who's… being different and… changing. He made me who I am, and made me feel special, and look at how I repay him. I didn't even kill someone today! And… he should be mad. I'm disappointing him."

"Your entire life revolves around him!" Crane shouted suddenly, nearly dropping the soup. "It disgusts me! And if you would open your eyes and see that maybe- maybe Nightwing or Dick or whatever- he's changing you and even if it isn't what... Isn't..." He sighed slowly. "Maybe if you changed it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Maybe if you left, you'd be better off. So things like that don't happen." He gestured to the stitched J on her chest.

* * *

There sound of gunfire suddenly echoed in the maintenance tunnel as Dick hit the ground, immediately covering his head and tucking into a ball. It continued for what seemed like minutes, but was really mere seconds, and when Dick glanced out from under his arms, the angry mob lay all over each other on the floor, and the boy's vacant white eyes stared straight at him as he drooled. Dick scrambled back, gasping.

"Whoa, hey, Nightwing," Batwoman caught him. "We've got you," she assured him quietly, checking him over. "It's ok."

"What- how did you-?" He stuttered, trembling. He looked around at all the people on the floor. Commissioner Gordon was stepping over them distastefully, a few other officers starting to sift through the people. "Are they dead?" Dick choked, gripping Batwoman's arm tightly. She smiled gently.

"Just tranquilized, they will be fine." She looked over her shoulder and then pressed her comm. "Batwoman to Batman. I've got him, he's ok." She muted it again and put a hand on Dick's cheek, taking his mask off carefully. He flinched away. "It's okay honey," Kate assured him. "Can you tell me what happened? Can you walk?"

"They... He just..." Dick couldn't take his eyes off of the crumpled figure of the boy, white eyes wide open.

"Ok." Batwoman watched him. She hesitated, and then grabbed his arm gently. "Come on, you gotta walk. You can walk."

Dick stood slowly, his eyes still fixed on the boy. He couldn't believe what he'd witnessed, what he'd almost become a part of; he was still catatonic as he walked beside Batwoman. She was saying something, and he shook his head as he tried to focus on that.

"Dick, did they hurt you?" She said again.

"No. No, they didn't," he took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. "What time is it?" He asked hoarsely. Kate glanced at him.

"Late," she sighed.

"Nighttime?"

"Not that late," Kate chuckled.

"Damn."

"Don't worry, you're not going back into the field," she assured him, but Dick grabbed her arm.

"No. I'm ok, I can work." _I have to work._

* * *

"Maybe it's… maybe it's because I'm seeing Nightwing that things like this happen," Harley defended, sitting up and crossing her arms. "Before I started seeing him, things like this didn't happen. I was happy before I started seeing him. Mistah J…" she crossed her legs and stared at her lap, "would actually look at me before. We were happy," she mumbled.

" _You_ were happy," he corrected.

"Why... Why does everyone say it like that?" She looked down at her hands. "I made him happy. I know I did. And I just want to do it again."

"Harley I don't know if you can, dear," he said quietly, handing her the bowl of soup.

"Why not?" She stared up at him, her eyes wide.

"Because…" Crane watched her. She trusted him. What he said now could change her mind for the better or worse. He also knew that she would make her own decision, regardless of what he said. He could only hope to steer her in a different direction. But he had no idea what direction in which to steer. "Because you can't have both. You can't… Making him happy won't make you happy. Sometimes… Sometimes in order to make someone else happy, you have to move on. You can't make them happy because… because nothing makes them happy. Nothing makes them happy but their own work and what they do and their… their motivation isn't you it's… anything but you. Anything but your entire race, anything but- you just can't," he rubbed his arms a bit. Crane pushed his dark matted hair back, falling in greasy waves to his chin. He slipped his dingy lab coat off of his slender shoulders, hanging it carefully on a hook by the door.

"He does make me happy," Harley muttered. She set the soup down and laid back as she hugged the pillow tight. "He does."

"Does he? Or is he just the only thing that ever has, and you don't know if you're actually happy?" He said quietly. "You need to just forget it. It'll never happen." Harley mumbled incoherently, hugging the pillow tighter. The medication helped relax her to the point she was falling asleep almost instantly. Crane watched her for a moment before taking his lab coat off of the wall and putting it over Harley's shoulders. "Nice girls like you shouldn't have to have problems like these," he whispered, pushing his glasses up his nose. Crane nodded once and then sat down on the floor by her head, pulling a book out from under the couch. He flipped it open and sat in silence, listening to her sleep behind him.


	33. The One Where They Get Permission

"Sit still," Barbara ordered, pointing her pen at the observation table Dick had just abandoned to pace the room. "Everything is going to be fine without you." She didn't look up as she scribbled more things into her bulging notebook. "Besides," she caught a piece of paper that nearly fell out, "shift change isn't for a while, so just relax."

"I'm not tired," came his muffled reply, his hand over his mouth as he turned again to pace back the way he'd come. "And I don't want to... Relax. Rest. Whatever."

"Well humor me," she told him. "You worry me enough as it is without being attacked by apocalyptic cults."

"Jeez don't-" Dick shuddered. "Don't say that."

"And that," she pointed at him, "is why you shouldn't be all excited to leave. You need a break."

"No I _don't._ There could be more of them out there, and while I think Batman is perfectly capable, I thought that I was, too," Dick stopped and looked at her. He'd taken a shower and scrubbed the sewage off of himself, changing into a soft cotton t-shirt and sweatpants after his examination by the medical staff. "I trust him, but he needs help. What if they weren't the only ones?" Dick straightened up and winced a bit. His taser burn hurt like hell, but he wasn't about to accept medication that could benefit someone else. He wore his mask now, and his damp hair left little water spots on the shoulders of his gray tee.

"Dick," Barbara rested her notebook against her thigh, "I know you can't see it, but you're not thinking about this clearly. It's your break day anyway-"

"-I _always_ go out on my break day-"

"- _and_ Batman's out on city patrol instead of in the labs. And it's only been a day." Once Dick had gotten back to the tower, he'd been kept in isolation aside from those he'd given his report of what happened to and some medical staff that watched him in case he was Infected. He'd had some cuts and scrapes and a lot of Infected blood, and Damian had covered his supply shift with Batman running damage control in the city with Gordon. Barbara had been on edge after the attack until after twelve hours there was still no sign of him changing. She still hadn't been focused enough to work for the past day. "You could have been killed or Infected. Please don't go charging out there. Please."

"Batgirl I'm not charging into anything. I wasn't charging into anything when it happened!" Dick ran a hand through his hair. "I was very cautious. I just got overtaken, these things happen." He stopped pacing, staring at his feet for a moment, lost in thought. These things didn't happen. They shouldn't. What he'd seen was disgusting. They never would have happened in the world before, not the way they did. For people to turn themselves into monsters- willingly- Dick stumbled back a bit before falling against a desk, trying to tear himself away from the panic and despair clouding his thoughts and elevating his breathing.

"Hey!" Barbara tossed her notebook on the table and moved over by him. She cupped his face and lifted it up to look at her. "None of this is your fault. I'm not saying you were being reckless or anything. These things do happen, and I'm sorry it happened to you."

"The kid was ten, Babs," Dick breathed, closing his eyes. He stood up, waving his hand to show her that he didn't need help balancing.

"It still isn't your fault. Actually," she looped her arm through his to help balance him anyway, "more people would have died if you hadn't found them."

"I know. They just..." Dick looked down. "I know," he sighed.

"We can't save people that don't want to be saved," she reminded him quietly.

"Right," Dick bit his lip, looking down. "I'm sorry Babs."

"It's okay. You should really rest." She led him back over to the observation table. Dick obediently sat down, watching Barbara walk around him on the table.

"I don't need to rest." Dick glared at the floor and then looked back up. "I can't get the image of that… that _kid_. To turn him into a zombie…" he sighed. "Infected. Sorry."

"That's…" Barbara watched him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine," he dismissed her. She studied him a while longer before sighing and picking up her notebook.

"Okay." She tucked it under her arm. "Well you're clearly not going to turn at this point, and we're done running tests and quizzing you on what happened, so…"

"So I'm free to go, Ma'am?" Dick grinned, but it seemed forced.

"As long as you promise not to sneak out of this tower until your patrol begins," she warned. "I know you don't want to, but try and rest for the rest of your break."

"I'll try. I can't make any promises," he smiled a little. "Thank you, Batgirl," he stood up. There was a pause, and then Dick hugged her tight. He took a deep breath, holding onto her.

"Don't go almost dying on me again, okay?" she told him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Dick smiled and closed his eyes.

"I can't make any promises," he whispered. Barbara smacked his arm.

"Don't make me kick your ass, Boy Wonder."

"You couldn't if you tried," he smirked, pulling back a bit to look at her. Their lips weren't far apart, and Dick breathed shallowly, watching her.

"Ha," she laughed. "It's cute that you think you're better than me."

"I… never have been," Dick chuckled, still not moving. He looked down a bit, and she could see his eyes through the lenses of his mask.

"You've only been better than me at not being as good," she pretended to sigh, smirking up at him. Dick laughed a little, watching her.

"Yeah and it always bothered me," he breathed.

"So," she inched closer to him, "I could take a break too," she offered. Dick smiled a little, but it faded slowly.

"I think…" he spoke quietly, his lips brushing hers. Dick looked down and away from her. "I'm afraid."

"Of wha-" Barbara was cut off as the both looked toward the door as it opened. Ivy stepped in but hesitated when she saw them.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Um… No," Dick stepped back. "Nope," he ran a hand through his hair, sighing slowly. "I was just going to go… did you need something?" Dick asked.

"I heard rumors of someone else under house arrest and decided to see if it was true." She glanced around the room. "Am I even allowed on this floor?"

"We had him in here for medical testing." Barbara crossed her arms. "What if he'd been Infected?"

Ivy cocked her head at her, a smile playing on her lips. "Then you'd be out of luck, wouldn't you?"

Barbara blushed, and Dick coughed a bit, looking down. "No," he laughed. "No, you're probably not allowed on this floor, actually. Allow me to escort you out," Dick nodded at her, chuckling, guiding her out. He glanced back at Barbara before the door closed. When they stepped onto the elevator, Dick looked at Ivy. "How did you even _get_ down here," he muttered, pressing the button for the cafeteria floor.

"You guys have these fancy things called elevators here," Ivy replied sarcastically. "I don't know if you noticed, but they stop on every floor." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and leaned against the elevator wall.

"But… oh never mind," he chuckled. Dick glanced at her. "This is weird," he muttered, keeping his eyes on her face. She was scantily dressed, and he suddenly shifted uncomfortably. "You're not going to gas me or something, are you?"

"You're not asking me to, are you?" She watched the floor numbers tick up.

"Why would I ask you to?" he said slowly, looking at the door.

"Why would you?" she challenged. Dick fell quiet.

"So you and Jason, huh?" He glanced at her again, smiling.

"So you and Batgirl _and_ Harley, huh?" She gave him a wicked grin. Dick sucked in a breath.

"Ouch," he laughed, wincing at the taser burns in his back again. "It's complicated." The elevator doors slid open, and he stepped out into the hall, holding the elevator door open for her.

"Complicated like Harley thinking being with the Joker is a good idea?" she asked as she walked past him and then stopped and waited for him. "Or are you just saying it's complicated because that makes it easier?"

"No, I'm saying it's complicated because it's complicated. I've fallen in love with a woman who's a known psychotic and murderer, who's in love with another known psychotic and murderer, a virtual kingpin of crime." They walked down the hall towards the cafeteria. "But I still have feelings for my ex girlfriend, who is a vigilante. So am I. It's a Romeo and Juliet of epic proportions. And-" Dick opened the cafeteria door for her- "I don't even know if she likes me, let alone loves me back." he smiled. "When I say complicated, I mean it's complicated." The door swung shut behind them.

"Jason told me you were overly dramatic," Ivy laughed. She stopped in front of him, staring him down. "How does that saying go? If you love two people, you never really loved the first or you wouldn't have fallen in love again." She headed over to the cafeteria line. "It's not complicated. You're making it that way."

"Wow. That was profound," Dick chuckled. "I'll have to think about it," he glanced over the counter, pulling things out. They didn't exactly have staff, and half of the lights were off, to conserve energy. Dick dug through some of the bags of food and grabbed a box of crackers. "What about you? Doesn't your little crush on my brother kind of undermine your 'men are the scum of the earth' thing?" He sat back a bit, leaning against the counter. "Also, if you hurt my little brother, I swear-"

"-Calm down, Commander." Ivy rolled her eyes. "I doubt your threat was going to be as creative as you thought it was going to be." She crossed her arms as she stared at him. "Besides, aren't you proving my 'all men are scum' thing?"

"How so?" Dick frowned, rummaging around for more food. "What do you even eat...?" he muttered. She laughed.

"Isn't the Joker using Harley and not really reciprocating her feelings something that really bothers you about their relationship?" Ivy reminded him. "And the fact that she's with him and you at the same time, doesn't that just gnaw at you?" She smirked. "I mean I don't like Batgirl, but you're the Joker in this whole little scenario with her." She wandered down the counter from. "Unless you're done with Harley of course."

"I'm not. I'm just trying to figure out what to do. So is she, I guess. And I'm not parallel to the Joker, I'm parallel to her. I'm sleeping with her, but I'm also still in love with someone that I probably shouldn't be in love with. Babs and I are complicated." Dick opened the box of crackers and pulled out a sleeve, walking to the table. "Your problem is you can't see that men make mistakes, just like you do. We make mistakes like not knowing who we want to be with and thinking we can have both." Dick turned to smile at her. "You make the mistake of thinking that we're scum who hurt nice girls like Harley, or destroy the earth or whatever on purpose. It's accidental. We're not scum, we're just stupid."

"Yes, being a moron does appear to run in your family." She sat down at an empty table, brushing crumbs off the surface. "So you're not done with Harley," she pried with an amused look.

"It would run in the family if we were actually genetically related, but I get your point," Dick commented, sitting down with his box of crackers and a water bottle. He ignored her second comment.

"Experiences shape who you are just as much as genetics." Ivy shrugged. "And don't think I don't recognize that guilty expression. It's the same one Harley got every time she'd go see you after I told her not to. How's she doing?" She leaned her elbows on the table.

"Worried about you." Dick took a drink of water, taking his mask off and tossing it on the table. "And him." Ivy rolled her eyes.

"He's going to be the death of her. But at least he hasn't killed her yet," she sighed.

"Yeah how lucky," Dick muttered, looking down. He fiddled with the crackers, his arms crossed on the table. His breath whispered past his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. "I love her." He said simply. Dick looked up at Ivy with a smile. "And I want her out of there so bad... But I'm not sure what else to do," he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Trust me, I want her away from the clown just as bad. I couldn't convince her to come with me when she told me to leave because he wanted to kill me, and apparently killing him was not a proper response." She shrugged. "But if she's seeing you, she must not be that happy with him."

"Let's hope," he breathed.

"She has no one else in Arkham but him," she reminded him, "and let's face it, she's the only one who thinks he loves her. It can't be too long before he pushes her away."

"So what do I do?" He leaned forward, blue eyes fixed on her.

"If I knew, she'd be here. Locked in this... very fancy dungeon with me." She brushed her hair behind her ear. "I don't even know how you two ended up seeing each other in the first place. It was a bad idea then and a bad idea now." She grinned at him.

"You're telling me," Dick laughed. He smiled back, watching her. "You're one to talk, though."

"I'm not a hero. I embrace bad ideas. I guess Harley does too, which would explain the conversation we're having."

"So Jason's just another bad idea?" Dick pried, leaning forward.

"We're actually digging into your love life right now if you don't mind," Ivy said stiffly. Dick laughed.

"Relax, Gaia, I'll back off." He smiled. "Are you sure you're not just curious about Harley?"

"Of course I'm curious about Harley," Ivy scoffed. "She warned me the Joker wanted to kill me, pissing him off. She started sleeping with you, pissing him off. And now she's in there alone with him, and who's going to protect her if she pisses him off? The proper term is worried. And you're worried about her too," she added. Dick looked down, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Ivy watched him. He looked practically pitiful.

"Why did you two stop seeing each other?" she asked curiously. He was clearly smitten with Harley, and when Ivy had last seen her, Harley hadn't been able to stay away from him either.

"It's... Complicated." He laughed. "She had her mind made up about me, and she thought that I was using her. We said some things we shouldn't have, and now I don't know... I want her. So badly, and I don't know what to do. I have to get her back."

"Well moping around here isn't going to change that." She smirked at him.

"If you didn't notice, I'm not exactly free to go just yet," he chuckled. "Why are you helping me?"

"I may not like you, but you're better than the Joker." She shrugged, leaning back in her seat.

"I'm almost flattered," Dick laughed. "I can't say you're the best decision Jason has made."

"But I'm not the worst," she challenged. She almost laughed. After a brief pause, her face grew serious again. "Don't you dare tell Harley this, but I miss her."

"Oh I'm definitely telling her that," Dick grinned. "She'll be thrilled. She'll never let you hear the end of it."

"That _would_ be a problem if I ever got to see her again. But at least I got you to admit you'll be seeing her." She beamed triumphantly.

"I said I shouldn't, I never said I wouldn't. I don't think I've ever seen you smile," he commented.

"And you never will again," she told him seriously. "But you will see plenty of eye rolls and condescending glares."

"I'm sure." Dick looked down at his watch with a sigh. Ivy's mouth twitched in amusement. She grabbed the end of her hair and played with it as she waited for him to say something. He watched her curiously. "What?" He finally asked, taking a drink of water and clearing his throat to dispel the awkwardness.

"Nothing." She was amused by his discomfort. Not many people would sit down and talk to her like a normal person, and she somehow found it funny that he felt awkward.

"Why do you like Harley?" he asked suddenly, watching her. "You don't like anybody. You look like you tolerate Jason and Selina, but otherwise..."

"I tolerate _you_ maybe," she muttered before sighing. "She's never once treated as different. She's crazy enough to date the Joker and you at the same time, so she's crazy enough to have a plant as a best friend. She reminds me that I'm human."

"You are?" Dick teased, smiling at her.

"Cute," she said drily.

"Sorry. I get what you mean. She's a lot saner and smarter than people give her credit for."

"Whenever I feel like I've lost my humanity, she reminds me that being a 'normal' person isn't what makes you human." She said it then shifted around like she was self conscious about her words. Dick nodded.

"So what do you see in Jason, then? I mean he makes me want to tranq myself on a daily basis," Dick chuckled, his food forgotten.

"If you hate him so much, what do _you_ see in him?" she countered.

"He's my brother. And I knew him before his… Well Jason's had a bad life. Really bad. None of us have been good, but he's… He's a little worse than the rest of us. A lot. That tough as nails shell is just that; a shell." Dick leaned back before standing. "And I think he likes you enough to let you in." Ivy smiled to herself before realizing she was doing it and scowling at him. Dick laughed. "You're so cute I could practically ruffle your hair, if it wouldn't kill me. I'm going to sneak out," he smiled. "I'm going to see if I can go see Harley. Any message you want me to give her?"

"Tell her that if she gets herself killed by that creepy bastard, she knows I'll resurrect her just to murder her again." Dick watched her for a moment and then shrugged with a smile.

"Okay then."

* * *

Joker looked down the barrel of his gun, grinning ghoulishly. He stood on the street, shooting rats as they scampered around the concrete. He had the bullets to spare.

"Joker!" Scarecrow called for the third time, hurrying towards him from behind. Joker hesitated and then turned around, firing shots at Jonathan. He cried out, dropping his notebook as he stumbled back, the bullets biting the concrete at his feet. Joker laughed cruelly, pulling the trigger until it clicked empty. Crane stared up at him from the pavement, panting. He stared at him incredulously. "Why!?" he gasped, kneeling to gather up the papers. Joker started reloading his gun, chuckling.

"Hi Crane." Harley waved at him from where she was sitting against the wall, watching the Joker. Crane stared at her and took a shaky breath.

"Hello, dear," he coughed, and then looked down, tucking his papers into his notebook.

"How's your zombie?" she asked curiously. She tucked her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, leaning her cheek on her knees as she looked over at him. Crane pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Well. Not dead, I managed to save him. And that's what I came to talk to you about," he stuttered a bit, clutching his notebook to his chest. He turned, putting a whistle between his lips and blowing it shortly. Suddenly his zombie, the same one he'd had strapped to the table, came scurrying around the corner. It stopped beside him and snuffed the air, and the whistle dropped from between Crane's lips as he smiled slowly.

"No way!" Harley sat up. "Scaredy McDead face turned into Fido the zombie dog?"

"Shhhhhhhh," Crane pointed a finger at her. "He's not a dog, so much as a domesticated wolf." He whistled again and it sat on the ground. "He is only tame as long as he's calm. No sudden movements."

"Aww," Harley pouted, "I thought this would be a pet I'd actually get to keep."

"No, he listens in a way Dent already listens to you. I thought of the idea when I noticed how he behaved around you. He still has a personality. He was very fond of you in life and he still is, in a way. He's subdued around you."

"Aw shucks Scarecrow," Harley giggled, "ya flatter me."

"Don't," Joker muttered, walking around the zombie slowly. He suddenly raised his gun and fired at a rat crawling towards the gutter. The zombie, spooked, snarled and lunged at Crane. He fell back, struggling, as the Joker laughed hysterically.

"Puddin!" Harley cried in outrage. She jumped up to help pull the zombie off Crane.

"Oh what?" He groaned as Crane whistled frantically at the zombie, trying to calm it. Joker twirled his pistol on his finger. "Sorry _mom_ ," he muttered, and then jumped when the gun went off, a bullet shattering the window of the house beside them. The zombie launched into a fresh panic, and the Joker fumbled the gun and dropped it in shock. Harley squealed and jumped back as the zombie swung its arm at her, its hands nearly clawing into her arm. Crane grabbed it's hair and whistled shrilly, pulling it away from her and whistling until it calmed down. He released it slowly, and Joker giggled before covering his mouth, still snickering.

"That wasn't funny!" Harley smacked his arm. "We coulda died."

"I just- it slipped," he gestured to the gun, laughing harder. "Happy accident."

"And what about that was happy?" she asked, sliding down the wall to sit in her spot.

"It was pretty funny," he chuckled, glancing down at her. "So now we have our zombie puppets. We need to know if Batman is mobilizing."

"What would he be mobilizing for?" She resisted the urge to scratch at the bandaging under her jacket.

"Well we did blow in there and we have been continually, stealing their nuts, and attacking their tree-" he picked up his gun and dusted it off.

"But it's Batman," she said. "He wouldn't attack us. Why would they try and stop us now? Everything been goin' pretty okay."

"Right. Though apparently not," Joker turned shrewd eyes on her, grinning slowly. He held a hand out to her until she took it, and he helped her stand, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Crane tells me you're not happy," he said with a smile, pulling her close. When Harley glanced back at Crane, he rubbed bruises on his neck and looked away. Joker cupped a hand under her chin and turned her face back to look at him. "Why are you unhappy, doll?" Joker stroked a finger down her cheek gently, watching her.

"You ignore me," she said simply, her lower lip sticking out as she pouted.

"I don't try to," he sighed. "Crane says you're upset because you _'can't have both.'_ "

"I mean-" Harley stared up at him, "I know I can't. I just- I'm sorry." She glanced back down.

"Well why not?" He smiled slowly. "I want you to be _happy,_ Harley," Joker purred, stroking her cheek. "But if I can't make you happy, if I don't have time to... I suppose you're your own criminal," he waved a hand, glancing at Crane. He watched them, his face pale, but he didn't say anything.

"You..." Harley stepped back, staring at him in confusion. "No. You don't like it when I go see him. Ya..." She reached her hand up to her chest before dropping it back down. "Ya told me ya didn't want me seeing him again, and ya..." Her lower lip quivered.

"Well I don't _love_ the idea..." He cocked his head a bit, pausing to watch her, before he took her hands and pulled her close, cupping her cheek gently. "But I do love _you,_ doll, and I want you to be happy. Besides, I owe you for my fit the other night..." He tugged her jacket away from her collarbone, glancing at the bandages. "It's a miracle I didn't hurt you worse."

"No," she grabbed his hand, "that wasn't your fault. An' I'm really okay. I know-" she cut off when she realized what he'd said. He'd said he loved her. It was surrounded by so many words he may not even have realized he'd said it; she couldn't remember the last time he'd said it. But she wanted to hear it again. "I just don't wanna upset you again," she breathed.

"And I'm telling you you won't," he smiled, gently. Not cruelly.

"No." She shook her head. "I just want ta make _you_ happy."

"Harley, I need to be left alone," he said bluntly. "Through the majority of the day, and the night. That would make me happy." He watched her, eyebrows raised. It was strange times like these when she was suddenly reminded he was human at one time. A man with a job and a home and bills. He never seemed any less than larger than life except in times like these.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I've been tryin' not ta bother you."

"I know, but that makes you miserable!" He sighed in exasperation, and then smiled. Harley bit the inside of her cheek.

"But I just wanna make you happy," she repeated, looking down at the ground.

"Seeing you happy makes me happy," he replied, smiling. He turned her face up to meet her eyes. "Go."

"You-" she hesitated, "you really want me to go?"

"I really do," he grinned, talking through his teeth. "I'm sure you won't go switching sides on me, correct? I trust you."

"No I- I," she got excited, "I won't..." Her face fell. She wanted to see Dick, she really did. Especially if Joker approved of it, but she didn't want him to see her with... She clutched her jacket. "I won't go. I don't want to anymore." Joker sighed slowly, turning away.

"Very well," he said forcedly. "Just so long as you know you're free to go. This isn't a prison anymore," Joker hissed, and he stalked away back towards the tower. Crane watched him go, gnawing on his lip nervously.

"I don't know what to do," Harley breathed. She slid slowly down the wall, dropping her head onto her knees.

"I'm at a loss as well," Crane said quietly.

"I mean, I want ta go," she admitted. "But what if he's disgusted because of the..." She looked down at her jacket like she could see the stitches. "What if I disgust him?"

"You won't. And even if you do-" Crane signed slowly. "Look what you have to fall back on." He gestured to the Joker in defeat as he went inside. Harley glanced up at him helplessly.

"Then maybe I shouldn't even bother." She couldn't get hurt if she didn't go, but she'd also never see him again. That hurt more than the idea of him rejecting her. It still felt like she was betraying the Joker feeling like this. He'd been fine with her being friends with Ivy, but this felt different. If she could go, she wanted to, but she was still terrified.

"Why not? Harley has he ever given you express permission on anything?" Crane sighed, looking down at her. He'd chained his zombie to a light post, and it sat on the ground with its head down. "I'd say take advantage of his generosity."

"Okay." She looked down at her lap. If Dick turned her away, she'd be back to where she started, only now Joker had told her he'd be busy all the time. Because of Dick. She rested her forehead on her knees. "Okay."

"Do what you want to, Harleykins," Crane stood and ruffled her hair, unchaining his zombie. She nodded; she still didn't know what she wanted. He sighed. "Tell you what. You go see Nightwing one more time, either to say goodbye or to see if you still want to spend time with him. Just to make absolutely certain that you want to do one thing or the other." He watched her, and then he smiled gently. Harley glanced up at him before looking at the wall. After a second, she stood up and looked at him again, giving him a small smile.

"Okay."


	34. The One With The False Alarm

Harley hadn't been able to sleep. After her talk with Crane and Joker, she'd been too restless and nervous to lie down and had ended up heading to her and Dick's place. It was still well before sunrise, but she was impatient. Once she'd made it there, it hadn't been any better. There was still too much time to kill and nothing to do. The summer heat hadn't subsided over the evening, so she'd taken her jacket off. After wandering aimlessly around the dark hotel room for a while, she'd decided to clean.

The place was nearly spotless from the last time she'd stayed here, so there wasn't enough to kill the entire amount of time. She'd taken to pacing again, biting the inside of her cheek nervously. At the first sign of sunrise, she'd pulled her jacket back on and zipped it back up to her neck. It wouldn't take long for the day to become sweltering, especially in their room. And she had no way of knowing if Dick would even show up. She sat on the edge of the bed and groaned in frustration. She'd told herself it didn't matter what happened with Dick today, but her stomach still felt tight, almost nauseous. She fell back on the bed.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed me," Dick smiled, speaking quietly as he stepped over the balcony rails. "You know if you keep these doors closed and the curtains drawn, it will cool off in here." He smiled again. He wore a black t-shirt, with what looked like an armored version of his Nightwing suit over it.

"But then I can't hear if you're coming or not," she reasoned. She propped herself up on her elbows to look at him, ignoring the twinge of pain it caused in her wound. She blushed as she looked at him.

"What?" Dick asked softly, taking his belt with his weapons on it off. He unclipped the holsters on his legs and put them on the table beside the windows. When he'd removed his armor, he walked to the bed and flopped down beside her.

"What what?" She glanced over at him.

"You're blushing," Dick smiled softly, stroking her cheek. "I've missed you. I had the worst couple days..." he rubbed his face.

"I'm sorry." She pulled his hand away from his face. "Are ya okay?"

"I am now," Dick smiled gently, turning his hand to lace his fingers with hers. Rope burns snaked around his wrists, just visible under his gloves. "How are you?"

She gasped. "What happened?" She examined his wrists.

"Work. Apparently a post apocalyptic cult of zombie enthusiasts was living in the sewers and I fell right into the middle of a ritual sacrifice," he joked, but he took a deep, shaky breath.

"Ew!" Harley cried and shuddered. "Aw that's just terrible. How does that even happen?" She pulled him close and gave him a hug. "Wait," she moved back, "sewers? Please tell me you took a shower."

"Of course," he laughed, his arms still around her as he smiled at her. "But if you're offering..."

"Oh haha." She smacked his chest. "Ya think you're so cute." Her entire body felt hot, and she felt sweaty in her jacket.

"I think you're a lot cuter actually," he grinned, biting his lip as he watched her. She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"You just got here. Slow your roll Casanova."

"I can't help it," he smiled back, stroking her cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm... good." She gave him a small smile and sat up. "But can I just ask ya one question?" She pulled her jacket out of place to try and get the pressure off the bandage; the stitches ached. "An apocalyptic cult? Really? Isn't that kinda like beating a dead horse? Just a little unnecessary?"

"Right?! That's what I said," he chuckled, pulling her close. He turned his head to press his lips against her forehead, inhaling slightly. "I've missed you."

"Ya know, I think you said that already," she giggled. She reached up and gently pulled his mask off so she could see his eyes.

"I did. To both things," he grinned, pulling out the scarlet pigtail in her hair gently. Dick ran his fingers through it.

"Well why don't you come up with something new to say then?" she teased, smiling at him.

"I..." He smiled a little. He'd almost said 'I love you.' They both knew it, looking in each other's eyes. "I'm actually quite hungry," Dick laughed.

"And you came to Arkham in search of food?" She laughed and kissed his nose, hoping to smooth over the awkward moment. Dick smiled and closed his eyes.

"I just forgot to bring something to eat when I rushed out this morning," he confessed, shifting her a bit against his side to get more comfortable. He took his gloves off and then pulled her other pigtail out and smoothed her hair.

"In a hurry to get somewhere?" she taunted. She tucked her hair behind her ear and grabbed his hand, playing with his fingers.

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Dick grinned, watching their hands together.

"Uh huh, and that's why the sun could technically still be considered rising, and you're already here." She giggled.

"I've missed you," he repeated with a smile.

"You keep saying that, and it'll go to my head," Harley warned with a smile, kissing his cheek. She couldn't help beaming at the fact he wanted to see her. Dick watched her face. He could hardly breathe, and he smiled back, hoping his absolute adoration wasn't as obvious as it probably was.

"Maybe I want it to go to your head," he chuckled, cupping a hand under her chin to lift her lips to his. Harley let herself drown in the sensation as she kissed him back. After a second, she hesitated and pulled back. There was a constant pain in her wound that was a reminder of why she shouldn't get close to him.

"So who's on patrol with you today?" she asked, hoping to distract him. "Is Robin gonna barge in here all mad at me again?"

"Actually I'm with Batwoman. And she knows I'm here, believe it or not," Dick smiled, stroking her cheek.

"Somehow I don't believe that," she teased.

"Neither did I," he agreed. Harley giggled, dropping her forehead against his chest.

"Liar, liar pants on fire."

Dick laughed, stroking her hair. "We should get them off then," he said seriously. Her hands tightened into fists in his t-shirt, and she closed her eyes, her head still resting against his chest. She wondered if she was visibly sweating with how hot she felt, but despite knowing she'd have to get it over with eventually, she wasn't ready for Dick to know about the stitches yet. She wasn't ready for him to get upset. He chuckled awkwardly when she didn't respond. "Just a joke," he smiled, kissing her head.

"I know," she mumbled. She took a deep breath and leaned back, looking up at him and smiling. "Sorry."

He pursed his lips and watched her, frowning slightly as he did. "Are you ok?" He pushed the hair out of her face, tracing her smile with a finger.

"Yeah," she said quickly. "Yeah. I'm just... thinking. Um," she glanced around the room, "wasn't there supposed to be a tiny sized dog here with you?"

"I forgot him. Next time, I promise," Dick assured her.

 _If there is a next time_ , she thought. "I miss him," she mused, glancing out the window as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"I know. I should've brought him, but Robin has gotten kind of attached to him as well," He laughed. "Like he needs another pet." Harley'd jumped at his laugh before smiling back at him.

"Don't you dare let him steal my dog," she warned.

"I won't." Dick smiled at her gently, and then he reached for the zipper of her jacket. "Aren't you a little hot? It's sweltering out-"

"-No!" She caught his hand. "I'm fine." She stood up and paced nervously away from him.

"Ok," he said in surrender, sitting up to look at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... intrude, or something," Dick ran a hand through his hair, his face remorseful. "You're sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm-" Harley glanced at him before quickly looking away, "I'm fine." She wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"No you're not," he stood, eyebrows knit in concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Please let it go," she begged. She kept her back to him. Dick put his hands on her arms gently.

"I will. I'm sorry," he said quietly, pressing his nose into her hair. His lips brushed her ear, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. He could practically sense whatever pain it was that she was in, and he only wanted to make it go away. Dick tucked his nose against her neck in her hair.

"No, I'm sorry," she breathed. "I'm sorry." She hung her head, closing her eyes.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Dick said gently, kissing her neck. He held her tight, his arms wrapped around her protectively.

"You don't know that," she mumbled. With his arms around her, her stomach felt even more tense. The tighter he held her, the more she felt like he was going to leave.

"Yes I do," Dick smiled against her neck. "You are a beautiful woman, who also happens to be crazy and wonderful and just my type," he praised, sighing deeply.

"You don't know that," she repeated and shook her head.

"Oh yes I do," he insisted, grinning. Dick spun her around in his arms suddenly, stroking her cheek as he rested his forehead against hers. His other arm was still around her waist, and he looked in her eyes. "I know it. I'm a guy, I know everything," he laughed.

"Because that's how that works?" Harley giggled a little, rolling her eyes.

"Of course. I'm always right, except when you're always right," he clarified, kissing her nose. "Then _you're_ right."

"Ya know, people have to be wrong sometime," she told him. "Nobody's perfect."

"Well the criminal record as long as my arm is a flaw, and I'm sure I have my own considerable psychological issues to consider, but..." Dick kissed her slowly, a smile still on his lips. He pulled back, his eyes still closed. "Yep. Perfect."

"I thought you said the crazy was a good thing," Harley teased, "now the criminal record is bad?"

"Hey. I'm always right," he grinned, kissing her again.

"They can't both be right." She laughed, swatting his shoulder.

"Why not? I say so," Dick stroked her cheek, watching her. "You really do have such a pretty smile. I just never saw it before."

"Was it that hard to miss? I never stopped smiling."

"It was always kind of behind a gun or a fist," he chuckled, biting her lip. He kissed her slowly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Or a hammer." She giggled, leaning her forehead against his. She couldn't help inching closer to him.

"Right," Dick smiled, kissing her again. He pulled her close, a hand slipping under her jacket and up her back to pull her against his chest. Her taste was intoxicating, and he'd missed it. Harley bit his lip, cupping his face. She traced her thumbs along his cheekbones. Dick pulled her close, lifting her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. He kissed her again, running a hand through her hair. She gasped against his lips and clung to him. She felt dizzy and feverish and wanted more of his kiss. When he pulled back with a moan, it was only to breathe before he was kissing her again, walking across the room to push her down on the bed. When they were together, Dick couldn't control himself. She brought out something in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. He tangled his hands in her hair as he kissed her slowly. Harley pulled him down closer as she kissed him harder. She hadn't been close to him in so long she was impatient. She bit his lip, her hands sliding along his chest. Dick held her face as he kissed her, inhaling deeply, taking in her scent, her taste- he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her hips up against his, a hand twisted in her jacket at her side. His breathing spiked, and he kissed her harder, biting at her lips.

"Dick," Harley sighed, her back arching. She clawed desperately at the hem of his shirt and yanked it up over his head. She tossed it aside and kissed down his neck and along his shoulder. He moaned in response, his hands again moving to unzip her jacket as he bit his lip.

She moved to tug at his lip with her teeth, grinning before she gasped against his lips. "No!" She'd completely let him distract her, and she fumbled to pull the edges of her jacket together before he could see the exposed bandage. Dick had to catch himself so that he didn't fall on her, staring at her in shock.

"What?" he breathed, taking her hands away from her jacket and pulling it open. Dick ran a thumb over the bandage so gently she could hardly feel it. "What happened?" he asked, kissing her neck. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing." She took a deep breath, turning her face away from him as she blushed. She could feel herself overheating, her hair sticking to her neck. Dick pursed his lips and then pulled her jacket off carefully, kissing her ear.

"Ok," he whispered with a small smile. "I won't pry." He kissed down her neck, tossing her jacket aside and pulling her close.

"Thank you." She let out a shaky breath and turned her face to look at him again. She pulled his face up, smoothing her fingers through his hair and kissing him. Dick smiled into her kiss and breathed slowly, taking in the sweet smell of her hair and her skin. His hands trailed up her sides, holding her against him. She stretched up to kiss him deeper, but it pulled at her stitches. She sucked in a deep breath, her brow furrowing before kissing him again.

"Don't hurt yourself," he whispered against her lips, lifting her up to him so that she didn't have to stretch. One hand cupped her face. Harley blushed and rested her forehead against his.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. Her hands clung to his neck and shoulder.

"Shhhh," Dick smiled, kissing down her neck as he gently pulled her top up her waist, his hands tracing along her skin, feeling every inch of her body as he did. She dropped her head back. Her hands crept down to his waist to pull his hips against hers as she gasped for air. Dick smiled, pulling her shirt over her head and kissing her chest carefully to avoid the bandage under her collarbone. "Harley," he sighed against her skin. Her hands tightened at his waist, her hips bucking against his as she moaned. Dick caught her hip with one hand and kissed her lips steadily and deliberately, lingering against them when the kiss finished. He opened his eyes to look into hers, whispering against her mouth. "Slow down," he breathed, his light eyes flicking between hers, a playfulness behind the seductive blue. "I promise, you might even enjoy it." He smiled against her lips before kissing her again. Dick's tongue slipped into her mouth as he pulled her shorts down her legs, and his fingers followed the fabric over her skin. Harley grinned against his lips, rolling them over.

"But if we go fast," she smiled down at him, straddling his hips, "we can get more done in the short amount of time we have."

"Who said anything about short?" Dick laughed breathlessly, watching her as his hands crept up her sides. Her hands skimmed up his chest as she leaned forward. Her voice was a breath in his ear as her hands slid into his hair.

"Any amount of time is too short for what I have in mind." Dick moaned, his hands tightening on her skin at her waist. He closed his eyes and smiled. His hands trailed up her back and lazily played with the clasp of her bra. He suddenly turned his head and kissed her fiercely, and he pulled her closer as he did, his fingers trailing down her spine again. His hands wouldn't stop moving, exploring every inch of exposed skin. Harley giggled and tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands moving to undo the button on his pants.

"Harley," he moaned her name again, kissing her hard.

"Diiiiiick," Batwoman imitated him, and he choked on Harley's kiss in surprise. "Dude, your comm is on," she laughed. "I don't need a live action play by play."

"Yes, no thank you," Damian added quietly.

"Sorry, Kate, Dam-Robin-" he muted it and pulled it out, tossing it on the floor by his shirt, his cheeks bright red as he kissed Harley again. She giggled at his embarrassment.

"Ya know, you're just spewing people's names now. There's not gonna be a secret identity left." She worked his pants down past his hips as she gave him a quick kiss, still giggling.

"Kate doesn't care about secret identities, she never really did," he had to concentrate to speak, and then kissed her, his hand on the back of her head, his fingers in her hair. He didn't want to let her go. Harley gasped and giggled, grinding her hips against his.

"You don't seem that protective 'a yours either," she reminded him and kissed his nose.

"That's because I trust you, probably against my better judgement," he groaned, catching her waist and throwing her back down on the bed, rolling above her and kissing her with everything he had. He couldn't stand it. He _did_ trust her. He also knew that if the Joker told her to stab him in his sleep tonight, she probably would. But that didn't change anything, and that was what made this so exhilarating. Harley moaned, her hand cupping his face as her tongue sought his. Her other arm wrapped around his back to pull him against her. She knew this was exactly the sort of thing that had made her accuse him of just using her for sex, but she wouldn't stop for the world. Joker and Crane telling her to come here aside, she might have made that decision anyway. She couldn't stay away. Dick sat up out of her arms and yanked her bra off before he was kissing her again, gasping against her lips.

"I thought someone wanted to take it slow." Her breath rasped against his, and she reached up to tighten her hands in his hair. Dick grinned against her mouth and ran his hands slowly down her torso, biting her tongue as he kissed her.

"I can't control myself when I'm with you," he breathed, kissing down her neck and over her chest. Harley moaned, her back arching.

"I know the feeling," she breathed. Her fingers were twisted in his hair, her stitches a dull ache. Dick kissed above her underwear and bit the waistband, grinning up at her, his dark hair falling over her bleached skin. He ran his hands up her legs, still watching her. "I missed you," she gasped. She grabbed onto the bedsheets, biting her lip.

"Say it again," he teased, pulling her underwear down her legs.

"You wish." She lifted her head and grinned at him.

"No cuz this way I get to make you," Dick grinned and moved closer to her lips, kissing her again.

"But it's so much easier to make you." She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him against her. He moaned, his arms going weak as he nodded against her lips.

"Yeah, we've established that I'm... easily persuaded," he laughed, kissing her hungrily.

"That's not usually something to brag about." She kissed along his jaw to his ear, biting it.

"Only you can do it though," he grinned.

"That makes it better," she breathed before rolling them over again and smiling down at him. Dick's breathing came fast, his powerfully muscled chest rising and falling frantically with it. He ran his hands up her legs and bit his lip. Closing his eyes, Dick let his fingers feel every inch of her skin. Harley sighed and enjoyed the feeling before leaning down and kissing along his neck before she kissed slowly down his chest. Dick sighed slowly, his hands tangling in her hair. She grinned, kissing lower. She kissed down along the waistline of his boxers before pulling them down with her teeth.

"Copycat," he choked, his head falling back against the pillows as he groaned. "I could die, right here, and be content," he stuttered, his hands still twisted in her hair. Harley sat up, grinning as she crept up his body, planting kisses as she went. She leaned down to his face, still smiling.

"That can be arranged," she whispered in his ear, and then slammed a pillow over his face, laughing.

Dick gasped awake in the dark, sitting up so fast his head spun. He felt cold, and when he ran his hands through his hair, it was damp with sweat. He shuddered and tried to catch his breath. Glancing at his watch on the bedside table, he realized that they must have dozed off after spending the day together. The sun had almost set now, and Dick covered his face, taking deep, steady breaths. It was only a dream. Harley was balled up next to him, her hands tucked against her chest as she slept. The sheets were tangled in her legs, but she still seemed hot. Her forehead glistened with sweat, her breathing fast. Dick's brow furrowed as he watched her.

"Harley?" He touched her shoulder and then felt her head. "Harley..." He kissed her forehead. She was burning up.

"Mmm?" She blinked her eyes open and looked at him before groaning and rolling onto her back.

"Are you feeling ok?" he asked quietly, his palm cool against her cheek as he held her face.

"Yeah," she waved his hand away, "I'm fine." She blinked her eyes, lifting her head up to look around the room in confusion. "What time is it?"

"A little after nine," he replied, smoothing her hair back. "Are you sure you're ok? You're burning up," he touched her face again, growing more worried. In this day, sickness wasn't just a couple days off work and then you'd be better. It was life or death; even the common cold.

"What? No." She shook her head. "No. I'm fine." She rubbed her eyes. "What time did you say it was?"

Dick watched her. "I said it was nine."

"Oh." Harley moved to lay her head on his shoulder, wincing at the sharp pain when it pulled at her wound. She hid her face in his shoulder, his skin felt cool against her forehead. Dick stroked her hair, sighing happily.

"I could stay here forever," he breathed, staring at the ceiling. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

"I don't think you're allowed to do that," she sighed, tucking herself into his side. Dick turned his head and kissed her forehead, closing his eyes.

"Do what?" He chuckled, stroking her hair.

"Stay forever. You've got work and stuff."

"I can pretend." Harley giggled, kissing his shoulder.

"Look at you. Wanting to pretend you don't have responsibilities to see me." She beamed up at him. "That's adorable."

"You are very persuasive," Dick said quietly, stroking her cheek.

"I never persuaded you to do anything!" she defended with a smile. She laid her head back down on his shoulder; the room was spinning.

"You definitely persuaded me to do a few things today..." Dick grinned, and then looked down at her in concern. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just tired I think." She blinked her eyes repeatedly again, trying to focus. "You did keep me up pretty late last night." She grinned up at him. Dick looked at the window and then sat up with her in his arms.

"The sun's only just set," he said gently, looking in her eyes. He got up and began to light the candles around the room, before coming back to her and looking at her face better.

"Really? It's not morning?" Harley ran her hand through hair, taking a deep breath. Of course it wasn't morning; if it was, it'd be light out and he'd be gone. She shook her head a little.

"No." Dick knelt down in front of her, looking between her eyes. "Be honest. How do you feel?" he asked her seriously. His light eyes were intent as he looked at her, and she was distracted by the sharp angles of his face framed by his dark hair.

"I'm... I'm fine." She glanced away, biting the inside of her cheek. She knew she was lying but didn't want to upset him.

"I didn't ask if you were fine, I asked how you felt," he watched her, glancing at the bandage on her chest.

"I feel..." She took a shaky breath, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "Fine. I'm fine. Please," she breathed. She wanted to pretend everything was okay; she didn't want to ruin her time with him. She wanted to pretend she wasn't sick so they could just be together.

"You have to understand that I want you to feel better. I want you to be ok." He stroked her hair. "Ok? You can tell me."

"It's nothing," she whimpered. "Please."

"Harley, you're fevery and hot," he said gently, holding her tight.

"So? Maybe that's just what being with you does ta me." The blood was rushing through her head, and she closed her eyes.

"Well now I definitely know something's wrong," he chuckled.

"I'm just a little lightheaded is all." She nosed closer to his neck, kissing it gently. Dick closed his eyes, biting his lip.

"Harley..." He sighed.

"Dick," she mimicked, giggling. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He smiled and kissed her cheek, looking around the room at the candles.

"This'd be romantic, if we didn't need them in order to see at all," he commented.

"It's still romantic," she murmured, her breath tickling his neck. Dick smiled.

"If you say so," he sighed, biting his lip. His hand trailed up her back, pulling her closer.

"You told me I'm always right," she whispered in his ear. She nuzzled her nose against his neck. Dick laughed and turned his head to kiss her ear. She was still hot, and he was worried, but he tried not to show it. "Haven't you had enough 'a me yet?" she teased. She grinned against his shoulder.

"Why would I ever have had enough of you?" Dick breathed, kissing her forehead. "Are... Are you absolutely sure that you're ok?" he asked guiltily with a smile. "I just want to make sure." She reached around and caught his hand.

"Please stop worrying."

"I can't. You could be sick, or you could have an infection. I'm worried about you," he smiled gently.

"Don't be." Harley kissed his hand. He was making her worried, but she'd just go see Crane when she got back in Arkham. She didn't want to waste the time with him she had. She may have permission to see him, but he was only in Uptown for twenty-four hours. "I'll be fine."

"I'm not so sure. But I'll trust you." He smiled, cupping a hand under her chin to kiss her gently.

"You and the whole trustin' me thing," she pulled him closer, "it's adorable."

"I do. If it came down to it, I'd trust you with my life. It's up to you if that's a bad decision or not," he breathed, his lips brushing hers. She grinned against his lips.

"Well so far it's been a lotta bad." She slid her hands up into his hair. "And a whole lotta good," she murmured. She kissed him back hard, still grinning. Dick sighed into her kiss, biting her lip. He smiled a little and then took a deep breath, pulling away from her.

"Come on," he breathed, standing up. He pulled his boxers on and took her hand, tugging her a bit. She quickly snatched up his shirt, pulling it on as she followed.

"Where are we going?"

"Up," Dick grinned and grabbed an escrima stick as they passed his belt on their way out the doors. He pulled her close and fired the grappling hook up, pulling them to the roof. He caught the edge and lifted her up to sit on the ledge, and his shoulder muscles worked as he effortlessly pulled himself up beside her. Dick sighed and looked up at the stars with a smile.

"Very nice," Harley giggled, snuggling against his side and resting her head on his shoulder. He glanced down at her and wrapped an arm over her side.

"You know what I would say if I could say it, right?" Dick kissed her forehead and then looked up again. She nudged him, rolling her eyes before resuming looking for constellations. It's not that him telling her he loved her was bad, she should love to hear it. It just confused her. He wasn't supposed to love her. She wasn't supposed to want to be with him either; she did love Joker. So why was she here?

"So, how've ya been over the past month?"

"Exhausted. Confused. Busy... Satellite," he pointed at the small light in the sky as it slowly cut its path through the stars. "Isn't it weird that they're still up there? What if there are astronauts up there!"

"Then they probably would've run out of food and died," she reasoned. She kissed his cheek. "Sorry."

"No don't they usually stay up there for a while? Maybe they went up just last year," he argued, "and they are still up there. Do you think they know what happened?"

"They used to consistently shuttle food up to the space station. It could be possible someone's floating around up there, but I doubt it. Besides," she looked up, "even if you could still be up there alone, would you want to be?"

"I don't know," he said quietly.

"No one would think to check NASA communications before everything shut down." Her eyes searched the sky. "It'd be so quiet."

"That wouldn't be so bad," he smiled a little. "But at the same time... Lonely," he sighed. "All those stars. I was so excited when there was something out there. Turns out that's exactly what did us in." Harley let out a deep breath and turned, draping her legs over his lap and tucking her face into the crook of his neck.

"Now the stars are sad."

"Not always. I used to lay on top of my trailer at Haly's with a blanket and look at them. No matter where I went, they were always the same, and I was home. Some people say that people who travel a lot are homeless, but I disagree. I was always home. Always under the same stars." he breathed, his arms around her lovingly. Harley sighed. The night air felt cool on her skin, which she knew should worry her; it was summer and still hot out.

"Can I... ask you something?" Harley leaned back to look at him.

"Of course," Dick glanced at her and smiled.

"What would've happened if we hadn't run into each other a couple days ago?" She pursed her lips. "Would we have just never seen each other again?"

"No," Dick smiled, and then he looked down at her. "I was about two days from coming after you and begging you to see me again," he chuckled.

"Liar." She elbowed him in the side, smiling as she rested her head back on his shoulder.

"I'm a hero, I never lie," he laughed.

"Excuse me while I completely don't believe that. Heroes lie the most." She switched to a fake deep voice. "I have no idea how all those people were saved. Sorry I'm late, there was traffic. That Nightwing fellow seems like a great guy." She giggled.

"Ok I've never said that last one," he laughed, grinning up at the sky. "And you're one to talk."

"Oh please," she scoffed. "What's the point in being a criminal if ya can't take credit for your actions?"

"Like you're some kind of artist? That's twisted," he mumbled, reaching over to stroke her hair gently. His legs dangled over the ledge, and Dick laid back with her in his arms on the gravel rooftop.

"No... it's like... it's a lot worse being twisted alone. At least if you're crazy for the world to see, they say there's something wrong with ya, and you know it's not all in your head." She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "That's the difference between the heroes and the criminals. We don't hide our crazy, so we're not alone with it. That's your biggest lie. You guys are as messed up as us, just on the other side."

"And that seems to be our biggest agreement," he said quietly. "We're two extremes. I watched my parents die right in front of me- I just didn't tip the wrong way on that scale. I still fell off, just in a different direction." His slender fingers brushed her black hair behind her ear, and then reached over to do the same to the red.

"You've got some serious psychological problems there buddy," she mumbled and kissed his chest. Dick closed his eyes.

"You would know," he chuckled. Harley sighed and rested her cheek on his chest. The fever was getting to her, and she tried to keep her breathing steady. She wrapped her arms around him and snuggled closer despite the overwhelming feeling of both of their body heat.

"You feel hot," he said again, his words laced with worry like cyanide to their time together. He sat up and brushed her hair out of her face.

"No," she whined. It had been such a perfect moment. "Please don't."

"Harley it's ok," he said gently. "Look at it this way, if you're Infected, then there won't be any more moments like this. Plus you'll smell. There's a time frame in which we have to act on these things," he pulled her into his lap. If she was Infected, she was already contagious, yet he was fearlessly close to her. "Answer me now, with the truth," Dick said firmly. "How do you feel?"

"Why does anything have to be wrong?" She looked down at her hands. "Why can't we just stay here?" She was finally allowed to be here. "Please," she begged.

"Harley you've got a fever. Even a cold could kill you nowadays, and I need you to tell me your symptoms," he cupped a hand under her chin, making her look at him. Into those clear, focused eyes. "I don't want to interrupt our time together, but I _really_ don't want you to die."

"I'm not gonna die... I just... I don't wanna upset you." She moved her face out of his hand, looking away. Dick laughed quietly, turning her face back gently to look at him.

"Why on earth would you upset me? I just don't want you to be sick is all. I can get you medicine, or anything else you need. Why would I be upset?" he asked quietly, stroking her cheek.

"I can find some medicine in Arkham." She closed her eyes. "Please let it go."

"Harley," Dick begged. "I'm worried about you."

"I'm sorry," she breathed, gasping. Her breathing was ragged, and she hid her face in her hands as she tried to steady it. Dick stared at her, his face a bit pale.

"Harley are you dizzy?" he asked quietly. He pulled her close and tied her hair back with one of the ponytails around her wrist. She opened her mouth to lie, but there wasn't a point anymore.

"A little." It was comfortable leaning against him. If he stopped asking questions, Harley groggily wondered if she'd be able to fall back asleep. Dick took a shaky breath.

"And you feel hot. Are you cold?" he pressed, holding her weight with his torso as he felt her cheek.

"Well you feel cool. Are you cold?" She curled up next to him hoping the longer she danced around his questions the longer they could stay where they were.

"I need to see under that bandage, Harls," Dick said quietly. She squeezed her eyes closed.

"No you don't," she breathed.

"If you turn into a damn zombie, I'll never forgive myself," he said seriously. "I need to make sure you're ok." Harley shook her head. He was going to blame himself if he saw under the bandage. He wasn't going to look at her the same.

"How about I just tell you I'm okay."

"You're lying," Dick sighed. "Don't lie to me. Please. I get that you're a criminal or- or whatever but- don't lie to _me_. Especially right now. I think I've earned that," Dick watched her, and then tugged the collar of the shirt down to look at the bandages. She grabbed his hand.

"You don't know what you're asking. Please don't."

"Would you rather die?" he snapped, staring at her in disbelief. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't be terrified of turning. Why she wouldn't just let him _help_ her.

"Well I'd rather see you again," she bit back. "We just got here. I don't want you to leave," she said meekly.

"Why would I leave?" Dick asked her hesitantly. Harley turned away; she couldn't look at him. She looked up at the sky, not seeing the stars.

"What if I promise I won't leave. I'll pinkie swear," he pleaded. "You can't break one of those. I promise I won't leave if you let me help you." Dick watched her. She sat stiffly for a moment.

"Fine." She turned to face him, her eyes blank and jaw set. "You asked for it." She looked to the side of him, not wanting to watch his face as she yanked the collar of the shirt to the side and carefully peeled up the tape holding the bandages in place. She couldn't look at the cut either; she knew it was probably infected but didn't want to see it to know it was real. The knuckles on the hand holding her shirt out of the way turned white as the jagged J was revealed. The edges of the wound were red and swollen painfully against the stitches. Worrying red streaks branched out from the wound.

"Harley, this is..." Dick took a shaky breath, nodding slowly. "This is infected. We need to treat this." He stood carefully, picking her up with him in his arms. "See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad if you just let me help you," he smiled reassuringly, but he felt sick. Dick kissed her forehead and grappled down to the balcony, carrying her through the rooms to the bathroom. He sat her on the counter and went about lighting more candles in the room. Harley sat where he left her and stared at her hands. She closed her eyes; there was nothing she could think to say to him. Dick returned to her with a smile and set his utility belt on the counter. "Ok. My turn to play doctor," he said gently, looking at the wound. He glanced up at her face and did a double take. "Hey." He cupped a hand under her face, lifting it to look at him. "It'll be ok."

"Will it?" She stared up at him, her eyes wide. Dick smiled a little.

"Pinkie promise." He wrapped his little finger around hers and kissed her head. "Now. Let's get you better. I'm going to take these stitches out and put in fresh ones after I've cleaned it. We'll start with the infected cut and then worry about the 'Infection,'" he said hesitantly, carefully cutting through the stitches with a pair of small medical scissors and pulling them out as gently as he could.

"Whatever you say doctor," she mumbled. She grabbed onto the counter and looked over at them in the mirror. Dick's dark hair fell over his shoulders and nearly to his bare shoulder blades, still wearing only his boxers.

"Shhhh," he said gently. "I have a local anesthetic to take the pain away. Hold still," he said, injecting the wound carefully and then putting the needle down on the counter. Dick paused to dig through his utility belt.

"How many people do you think are still alive out there?" Harley asked quietly, staring at the wall like she could see through it for the answer. She shifted her position on the counter a little, waiting for the numbing to kick in. She couldn't decide if the initial cutting of the wound hurt more or all of the pain that had come after.

"We have a rough estimate. Heroes around, the Flash makes the rounds, Green Lantern... We try to keep a gauge." Dick busied himself with digging things out of the pockets of his utility belt.

"So," she looked back over at him, "humanity's not extinct yet." She kicked her feet a little, watching him work.

"You're right," he smiled a little. Medicine bottles, a needle, surgical thread, rubbing alcohol- there was no end to the things he pulled out of his utility belt. He got to work cleaning the wound, biting his lip as he did. She pulled the collar of the shirt out of the way and held it as he worked.

"You can say it." She looked at the top of his head. "You can't avoid it forever. I already tried that," she sighed.

"Say what?" he answered, a quiet scoff escaping his lips. He paused in his working, looking at the jagged J carved into her skin. This was a brand. A mark to prevent one man from stealing another's property. That's all she was to him. _Property._ Dick's jaw clenched furiously. It was all his fault. "How long ago did this happen? When did you stitch it up?" he asked, gaining careful control over his emotions again as he put down his supplies.

"Three days ago," she sighed and looked back over at the mirror. "The stitches were put in a half day after that. The fever started yesterday," she added, "and I came here last night, so I didn't check the wound."

"Ok. Ok, um... I'm going to leave this open for just a little while to let it breathe. But you're..." She was Infected. She would get worse and turn at any time now. "I'll be right back." Dick walked out into the bedroom and picked up his comm, turning it on. "Batgirl, secure channel," he said hesitantly. It was this or let Harley die; he was running out of options. After a second, Barbara's comm activated on his channel.

"What is it, Nightwing?" she asked stiffly. Dick bit his lip.

"I... I need your help."

He could hear her sigh in frustration. "Does it have to do with Harley Quinn?"

"Please don't hang up," Dick begged. "She's Infected. As in- I don't know what to do." Dick bit his fist, silently screaming. He knew Barbara would be pissed. Barbara pressed her fingers against her forehead, her elbows resting on her desk. After a long moment, she let out a frustrated huff of air.

"Symptoms? Is her blood thickening?"

"Um..." Dick walked back into the bathroom, looking at the wound. "I don't think so."

"Okay, so source of Infection? Chills? Pain?" She tapped her pen impatiently on her desk, and TJ glanced over at her.

"Source of Infection is a... a cut just under her collarbone. She had chills, but they've lessened, and yes, pain, but I gave her a numbing agent." Dick glanced up at Harley, frowning anxiously. Barbara paused.

"Does she have an infection or is she Infected? It's not necessarily both, Dick."

"I don't... I don't know." He rubbed his face in frustration. "She's incredibly hot and fevery, the wound looks really bad- something just feels off," he replied. Harley peeked at the wound before back at him.

"Give her an anti inflammatory to start taking any swelling down, and she'll need antibiotics to fight off infection," Barbara instructed. "Give her all of whatever infection fighting antibiotic you keep in your belt to take at least once a day. Is the cut big enough to need stitches?"

"Yes?" Dick glanced at Harley, biting his lip.

"I can't see it, so you're going to have to make the call on whether it's more dangerous to close it with an infection or leave it open and risk getting Infected. Because, no, it doesn't sound like she's Infected with a capital 'I.'"

"Oh," Dick frowned, "t-thank you Batgirl."

"Go ahead and stay with her to see if she develops symptoms," she suggested harshly before turning her comm off. Dick took it out of his ear, wincing a bit.

"Yikes," he breathed, and then shook his head. Dick took a deep breath. "Ok." He dumped a few pills into his hand. "Antibiotics, anti inflammatory, and painkillers." He held them up to her, giving her his canteen of water before starting to sterilize the surgical supplies.

"You people are gonna turn me into a drug addict," she mumbled before taking the pills. "So what's the verdict? Am I gonna live, doc?" She handed him back the canteen.

"You are zombie free, yes," he smiled a little. "But I'm going to re stitch this, to prevent it from getting Infected. I'll also send some stuff with you so you can keep it clean."

"Aye aye captain." She mock saluted. Dick chuckled and got to work stitching the cut closed. The tension hung heavy in the silence.

"This is all my fault isn't it?" he asked quietly.

"No." She leaned her head back against the wall as he worked. "It's my fault."

"Ok," he whispered and smiled at her. He finished his work, cutting the string and sighing slowly, putting things back in the pockets of his utility belt.

"Are you sure you're not the doctor?" she joked as she examined the stitched wound. She hopped off the counter and stretched out her back. Dick chuckled.

"I've had a lot of experience with stitching cuts," he smiled and kissed her forehead before going back to putting things away. It was so casual and so affectionate a gesture, and he did it so nonchalantly.

"Somehow I'm not surprised." She rested her elbows on his upper back as she waited for him to finish packing up. Dick smiled a little and took a deep breath.

"Some of them were from you," he looked up. From where he stood, he could see her reflection in the mirror over the sink, and she could see him raise his eyebrows at her.

"I told you I wasn't surprised," she giggled. Dick turned around and slipped his arms around her waist.

"We have a limited amount of time," he smiled down at her, his dark hair falling over his face.

"A limited time to build the world's best pillow fort? Or what?" She grinned. "You didn't exactly specify."

"Limited time together." Dick's voice was low as he watched her. There were dark circles under his eyes, and they were narrowed attentively, so clear and focused on her. He felt guilty, somewhere in the back of his mind, thinking about Barbara. She was his oldest friend, and it hurt to betray her like this, but- Harley pressed against him, her hair, scarlet and midnight black against her pale skin somehow making her crystalline eyes stand out all the more, dark makeup smudged around them- something about Harley was so right. He couldn't help himself as his hand trailed up her spine under his shirt that she wore.

" _You_ have limited time here. I have all the time in the world." She stood on tiptoe to drape her arms over his shoulders. The numbing was still in full effect, so she couldn't even feel a tug at the wound. Dick grinned.

"I said together." He kissed her gently.

"And whose fault is that?" she breathed, pulling him closer. Dick grinned against her lips.

"Fault implies that I'm taking responsibility for my negative actions." He kissed her playfully. "I'll take responsibility."

"And how," she bit his bottom lip, "do you plan on doing that?" He chuckled and grinned again, kissing her harder.

"I can think of a few ways," he breathed, running his hands through her hair as he pushed her back against the mirrors on the wall.

"I think you've already done those." She grinned. She wrapped her arms tighter around him as she jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I'll bet I can surprise you." His hand slid under her leg and towards the hem of her shirt, his breath fast against her lips as he smiled. His head was bent to hers as if he couldn't stay too far away from her. Dick kissed her again, his hand twisted in her hair, and he pulled her against him.

"Well you are off to a very good start," she gasped. She didn't want him to leave in a few hours; this was all the time she had with him. She pulled her shirt off and tossed it on the ground before she caught his face and kissed him hard. Dick moaned into her mouth and grinned, kissing down her neck. Her back was pressed against the cool glass of the mirror, and Dick kissed to her ear, biting it. Harley grabbed at his back, holding herself against him. Her breath rasped past her lips as she closed her eyes.

" _Ce que je vais faire pour vous_ ," Dick purred in her ear, his lips trailing down her jaw to her mouth, where he kissed her desperately, pushing her against the wall. His hand twisted in her hair. Harley lifted herself up to push his boxers down out of the way. She kissed slowly down his neck and along his shoulder.

"You were saying?" she breathed.

"Let's take this to the bedroom," he grinned, carrying her out.


	35. The One With The Penguin

The sun was just rising over the city skyline when Dick's bike roared into the parking garage below Wayne Enterprises. He tore his helmet off and pressed his comm.

"Babs, where are you?"

"You're not supposed to use anything but aliases on comms," Damian replied smugly.

"Shut up!" Dick snapped. "Barbara?!"

"I'm still in the labs," she replied shortly.

"I'm coming to you," he got off his bike and started across the garage.

"Dick it's almost shift change-"

"-I don't care." He made his way to the elevators and pushed the button for the labs.

"Fine." Barbara started to gather her stuff and clean up her workstation, her back stiff. Dick walked into the labs. He could see her at her desk, and he started towards her.

"Babs," he said quietly when he finally reached her desk, putting a hand on her shoulder. He hated calling her Batgirl. Even though they were like second names, their aliases seemed impersonal at times.

" _Don't_ ," she stepped away from his hand, "call me Babs."

"Batgirl," he said quietly. "Can we talk about this?"

"From what I could hear before you turned you're comm off," she angrily shoved things into piles on her desk, "it sounded like there was plenty of time to talk to me before it reached this point." She snatched up her notebook and headed toward the elevator.

"I wanted to talk to you in person," he cried, catching her arm beside the elevator.

"And in all that time we were together you couldn't once say you were thinking about her?" she demanded. "Instead of telling me you were glad it was over?"

"Barbara please! I screwed up. I didn't- I didn't think that... I didn't think."

"Didn't think what? That lying to me and treating me like a cheap expendable would hurt?" She jabbed her thumb against the elevator button.

"I am so. Sorry." Dick ran his hands through his hair. "Babs, it just... it happened."

"It's Harley Quinn. It doesn't just _happen_." She shifted her notebook to her other arm. "What happened to the relationship being too much work? To being happy not to see her again? It didn't just happen."

"Look," he rubbed the back of his neck. "I know what I said, and I know... I screwed up." The elevator doors slid open, and Barbara stepped on, turning to face him.

"Did you ever mean it? Or did you always want her instead?"

"I meant it," Dick said, stepping onto the elevator with her as the doors closed and before she could protest. "I do love you. I always meant it. Just not... Like that. I had moved on from her. I thought I had- but then she just came back into my life and I..." He trailed off. He felt horrible, like he'd used her. It was worse than when Harley'd accused him, because Barbara _wasn't_ saying it. They both knew it was true, and she hadn't breathed a word. She stared at the numbers ticking up on the display.

"Just... When you told me seeing her was more trouble than it was worth, were you telling the truth?"

"When I said it... Yes. But now..." Dick watched her, his back to the doors. "Babs- Barbara, look at me." She looked at him, her mouth set in a thin line.

"How long?" She wanted to know how long it had been a lie. "How long have you wanted..." _Harley over me._

"Since I spoke to her again." His mask off, his eyes, narrowed in worry, looked between hers. "And not a moment sooner." She took a deep breath and looked down.

"Stop being so sorry about it. I want to be mad at you." Her face flushed a little as it dawned on her that this is how he must have felt all the times she turned him away when they were younger. It made it worse that she knew he'd tried so hard not to hurt her.

"I am sorry. _I_ don't want you to be mad at me," he smiled a little, biting his lip. "And I'm sorry you had to hear that." Her face turned bright red.

"And then you had to call and ask for my help," she muttered.

"Well-" Dick lifted his arms to hug her, but stopped. "Am I- may I? Are you gonna dislocate my shoulder if I try to hug you?"

"I... I'm not ready to forgive you yet." Barbara crossed her arms turning away slightly. "Being trapped in here is what's keeping me from running from you." She wanted to hide, too embarrassed to look at him. She felt like a fool.

"I'm sorry." Dick studied her downcast face. "You deserve a lot better than this, the way I've treated you; I was stupid in my decisions. Not you." He put a hand on her shoulder gently. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"No but I didn't do anything right apparently." She glanced up as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open on her floor.

"You did. You did everything you could," Dick breathed. It hurt to hear her say that. "It's not like you're worse and she's better. You're my oldest friend, Barbara, you were there longer than anyone." He watched her for a moment, and then hugged her tight. "I love you." Dick backed out of her way so that she could leave.

"It just doesn't feel the same," she sighed. She glanced at him before she stepped out.

"No. No it doesn't," Dick agreed when the doors had closed, and he slid down the wall of the elevator to sit on the floor.

* * *

"Good. As long as you're finished upsetting the schedule for the rest of us- no, I don't want to hear about it, Nightwing, just get to your post."

Robin turned his comm off, shaking his head. Batman sat in the driver's seat beside him as they drove towards Downtown Gotham.

"How much of his patrol did he actually attend to?" Bruce inquired as he drove.

"Very little," Damian sighed, tightening the straps of his bulletproof vest under his tunic. "However, if you want someone to berate, I would choose Kane. She allows him to shirk his patrol and takes over the Uptown patrol. I think she and her narcissistic personality get off on the power," he commented, glancing out the window.

"If I remember right, you were his patrol partner when he first started seeing her. You can't tell me you didn't notice. So what does that say about you?" Bruce glanced over at him before refocusing on the road.

"I like to call it accommodatingly negligent," Damian smirked. Bruce nodded.

"What have any of you hoped to accomplish by letting them be together?"

"Eventual happiness," Damian looked over his shoulder at Titus in the back seat, and he scratched the dog's ear. "If not for ourselves, then for someone we care for."

"And what makes you think seeing her will make him happy in the end instead of heartbroken?" This was a conversation he'd had with Selina more than once.

"What made you think that you and Selina could ever be happy?" Damian cleared his throat awkwardly. "Did you see an end, when you fell for her? Nonetheless you remained with her."

"There... may be some similarities," he begrudgingly admitted, "but that doesn't change the fact that Quinn is the Joker's right hand woman."

"No it doesn't. But perhaps you could make an attempt to understand." Damian glanced up at the support cables of the bridge as they crossed into Downtown.

"It's not that I don't understand. It's that I don't trust her."

"Trust _him._ "

Bruce sighed. "I do. But he falls in love too easily." He turned the Batmobile down a side street.

"Yeah well. You were young once," Damian got out when they parked, looking around the alley as Titus jumped out next to him.

"I was worrying about other things at that age." Bruce locked the vehicle behind them.

"Well perhaps that's why you are the way you are now," Damian smirked, walking back towards the street. When he stepped out he began looking at the faded numbers painted on the doors in the neighborhood.

"I suppose that's why all of us are the way we are now." He let Damian lead, following behind him.

"Except Grayson. And Todd. Looks like it's just you and me, Father," Damian looked somberly up at a door, the numbers 431 scrawled on it. "I am not looking forward to this."

"No," he agreed, "but enough time has passed already."

"Stay," Damian addressed Titus, who sat at attention by the foot of the steps. Robin went up them and knocked on the door. A breeze blew down the street, his cape whipping out behind him. When the door didn't open, he knocked again. Jane Shan opened the door, and her face fell when she saw them. She leaned against the doorframe.

"I didn't think y'all made house calls," she said quietly. Damian smiled a little.

"Well this is a special case, Miss," he replied. She sighed.

"I wish I could say I was surprised." She opened the door further. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," Damian glanced back at Batman standing at the foot of the stairs before entering the house. "So you know, then?" he asked quietly, looking around at the dismal rooms. No one in Gotham lived in luxury, not even the bats; the sparsely decorated and grungy surroundings were still disheartening every time he saw them. _Better off this than zombie food,_ he thought.

"Not exactly no." Jane paced to the center of the room and looked around awkwardly. "I just know it can't be good." She stared him down. "What happened?"

"Miss Shan, was your father acting strangely in the past couple of weeks?" Damian crossed his arms behind his back, still speaking gently.

"Yes," she said bluntly, "ever since... my mom had complications from the flu and became Infected." She took a deep breath, looking down before her dark eyes refocused on him. "I haven't seen him or Kirk in days, so are you gonna tell me, or am I gonna have to ask?"

"Your father and brother are... They were Infected," he said quietly. _How do you tell someone this? How do you tell her that her father killed her brother?_

"They..." She trailed off as she tried to compose herself. Her hands clenched at her sides. "How?"

Damian watched her. She'd lost her entire family, yet she remained poised as ever. She'd want to know the truth. "Your father seemed to be running a- denomination of sorts. He attempted to force people to Infect themselves, and incidentally turned himself and your brother."

"And they're..." Her voice cracked and she sank down onto the sofa. "And they're gone? Or still... Infected?"

"Infected," he shifted a bit before sitting down beside her. "If there is anything I can do..."

"Where are they?" She looked over at him. "Can I see them? And Kirk... he's really..." She looked away again.

"They are at the GCPD headquarters," Damian said quietly.

"Okay." Jane glanced around the sparse living room. "How long until that cure again?" she half joked.

"I know." Damian laughed a little. He hesitated. "My brother is Infected too," he put a hand on her shoulder. "Red Robin. His name was Tim. The cure... We're working on it." He promised. She nodded.

"Ya know, we went on vacation to Metropolis one summer, and we didn't even see Superman once. Here, Batman and Robin make a house call. Somehow I don't feel that lucky."

"Superman isn't so great," Robin shrugged. "But neither are we. And I'm happy to tell you in person."

"Well I wish it had been better news." She leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees as she ran her hands through her long tangle of hair. Damian watched her quietly, his hand still on her shoulder. "I really don't want you to see me cry," she whispered.

"Why not?" he asked, genuinely curious. Damian squeezed her shoulder a bit.

"Because you're Robin." She sighed. "I don't wanna be an emotional mess in front of one of Gotham's saviours."

"Even we break down sometimes." Damian watched her for a moment, and then he hugged her hesitantly. He didn't know if this was breaking a personal or formal rule, but he wasn't sure if he cared.

"They can't be gone," she breathed, her hand bunching in his cape as she pinched her eyes closed. They'd made it all the way to Gotham, only for her to be left alone.

"I'm very sorry," Damian said gently, holding her tight. He barely knew this girl, but he felt her loss. Jane sniffled a little before finally breaking down and crying against his shoulder. She hated breaking down, especially in front of other people, but she couldn't stop the tears. Damian took a deep breath, nodding slowly. "It's alright. It'll be alright," he said awkwardly, patting her hair gently. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He'd learned as he'd grown up around his family in the past couple of years that he couldn't withdraw as he was raised. Damian knew _why_ she was crying but didn't understand it. Still, he knew he had to seem compassionate.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled and sat up. "You probably have more important things you're supposed to be doing." She was hastily trying to wipe her eyes.

"I... I do. Though I would love to stay here with you. You shouldn't be alone." Damian watched her. _Is that something you say to people?!_

"No, I'm fine." She waved him off. She was going to be alone from now on anyway. "Go ahead and go." Her voice was thick as she tried to hold back her tears. Damian stared at her for a moment longer and then stood.

"Would you like to leave?" he asked, holding his hand out to her. She looked up at him in surprise.

"Leave?"

"Yes. You shouldn't be alone, Miss Shan. I... I guess I'm offering you a job. Come live at Wayne Tower. We can train you, and you can do what you can to help your father and your brother." His hand was still outstretched, and he smiled a bit.

"What?" She stared at him in confusion, momentarily distracted from her tears. "You're just... offering me a job? Just like that?"

"Yes, I thought that was clear," he cocked his head. His ears stuck out a bit with his hair cut as close to his head as it was, his mask hiding his eyes. The bright greens, yellows and reds of his uniform stood out against the grayscale apartment, like he'd popped out of a storybook to whisk her away.

"But..." She was at a loss for words. "But... But don't you have to get approval for this sort of thing? This seems like a much bigger deal than you're making it. And what if I don't have any useful skills to help? Or what if I'm crazy like my father?" She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are you really supposed to be asking random strangers to come work for you?"

"My fa- _Batman_ trusts my judgement," he waved a hand. "This is nothing more than a chance. We will teach you the skills you need, and I'm sure you're a clever person." He helped her to her feet so that she stood in front of him. "You will not turn out like your father, of that, I am certain." His voice had grown incredibly kind, and even he seemed surprised at the tone. "You can think on the offer." He squeezed her hand.

"Oh, okay," she stuttered. "Um, thank you?" She was still uncertain about his offer. He said it like it was matter-of-fact, but she she was still unsure. Her father and brother were dead. Nothing made sense anymore. Damian nodded and walked back towards the front door, but he hesitated.

"We've all been where you are, in some way or another. If you ever just want to talk... Let me know." He nodded a little, pulling the door open "Take care, Miss Shan."

"Thank you," she breathed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "And thank you for telling me in person."

"You are very welcome. Though I am sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances." He bid her goodbye, walking down the steps from her house where Titus greeted him with a wagging tail. "Batman," he pressed his comm. "What's your location?"

"I just finished checking in with the Commissioner," he replied. "I'm by the station. Did everything go okay?"

"Just fine. I do think she is a potential prospect," Damian answered. Bruce was silent for a second as he processed the information.

"Really?"

"Yes. No familial connections, a driving force, and she seemed different. Reacted... much better than I would have expected when she received the news. Not to mention her actually quite impressive medical resumé."

"And is this because she has potential, or because you feel bad for her?" Bruce asked. "Her father also reacted differently than most," he reminded Damian.

"She has potential," he promised. "And I'm sorry- why did you adopt Nightwing in the first place…?"

"Fine," Bruce sighed. "Keep an eye on her, and keep me updated." It had been barely a month ago that he'd said the same thing to Jason.

"Yes, sir." Damian ran a hand over Titus's head. The dog walked closer to him and Damian smiled. "Where would you like me, father?" he asked.

"Midtown," he answered curtly. "Residential specifically. We need to know how much of what happened down in the sewers got to the general populous, and how they're reacting to it."

"Good," Damian broke into a run, heading towards the residential area. Titus barked, and he smiled at the dog, running faster. It was a game he played on his own, racing Titus. The dog always won, and sure enough, Titus surged forward. Damian laughed and then suddenly cried out as he tripped. He caught himself before he could faceplant, flipping over and rolling a bit. "Ow," he winced, looking for what his foot had caught on.

"What happened?" The comm was still active, and Bruce paused his patrol in case Damian needed assistance.

"I... Stumbled. Over an upset manhole cover," he said slowly. Titus sniffed at the crack to the darkness below.

"As in playful kids moved it? Or do I need to come provide backup?"

"Father at least six playful kids moved this if that is the case, you know how heavy they are. I'm going to check it out." Damian strained to lift the cover up and it fell to the ground with a deafening _clang_. "Stand by for backup. Titus, stay."

"I'm on my way." He grappled down to the Batmobile. "Do _not_ investigate alone."

"Father, I'm not Nightwing," Damian scoffed, switching to his night vision in the tunnel. "I can hear something. Switching to infrared-"

"Robin!" Bruce snapped. "This isn't up for debate. Wait for backup."

"Fine. Orders are orders, I guess," Damian looked up at Titus, who was sniffing around the opening. "What's your ETA? I'm getting-" Damian was cut off as someone tackled him from behind. He went face first into the rancid water, throwing his elbow behind him. He rolled over and kicked away his attacker, who came at him again. Damian coughed and used his momentum. "I'm-" he twisted the person's arm behind his back- "not-" and kneed him in the stomach- " _Nightwing_." Damian coughed, forcing the assailant face down in the sewage. Damian wiped his eyes, holding the struggling attacker under the water.

"Robin!" Bruce sped toward the Midtown bridge.

"I'm fine. Need I say it again?" Damian dragged his attacker back up from the water. "You have seconds to talk," he hissed in his ear.

"I'll never talk-"

Damian forced him into the sewage again. "I'm bored. And I'm going to have to wash my uniform again, but not for another three days. Nothing puts one in a bad mood like walking around smelling like garbage," he snapped down at the half drowned attacker. Bruce tracked Damian's comm on the Batmobile's system, parking nearby and pushing out of the vehicle.

"What is going on down there?" he demanded as he approached the manhole cover.

"This-" he pulled the assailant up again, coughing and sputtering- "garbage tried to attack me. Take me down."

"I swear- I swear I wasn't going to do anything- we were just playing-" he gagged, blinking the sewage out of his eyes. He couldn't have been older than Damian, but much smaller. Bruce pulled him back away from the boy by his cape, giving Damian a stern look.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked the boy.

"We heard about that cult thing- we were looking for it- we just wanted to see the zombies! I didn't mean to hit Robin- I swear! We were looking for our friend. He went down a side tunnel and just vanished!"

"How long ago, and where did he disappear from, and how many of you are down here?" Bruce demanded, releasing Damian's cape.

"We were down there," he pointed into the darkness. "There's like six of us, and we're all looking for Frank, he was the one who ran off."

"Find the rest of your friends and get above ground," Bruce barked. "We don't need to be looking for more people." He switched his mask to infrared.

"Ok- ok, Batman sir-" he ran off, calling out names. Robin glanced after him.

"Why do I get the feeling he wasn't telling us something."

"He said they were looking for _it_ not just zombies in general." Bruce started forward. "Whatever we find won't be good."

"Doubtlessly," Damian agreed following Bruce into the dark. They moved slowly forward looking for any heat signatures in the dark. The only thing they saw was rats. "Do you hear that?" Damian asked suddenly, stopping. Even at his full height, he wasn't as tall as Bruce. He listened again, and a distant scream broke the silence. It didn't sound afraid, it sounded agonized.

"Let's go." He knew it was too late. Those were the screams of someone who'd already been Infected and was turning.

Damian followed Bruce towards the cries. For a while they called for help, until the victim forgot the words. The brain shut down quickly, especially in instances where the victim had a fatal wound. "There," he pointed at a faint heat signature just down the tunnel. The boy screamed again.

"Be careful and keep your eyes open," Bruce warned, switching his mask to night vision.

"Question is- where's the Infected that bit him?" Damian said quietly. "Are we sedating him?"

"Sedation along with the decaying remedy. For now let's hope he simply injured himself to become Infected."

"Right," Damian walked around the boy, his gun at the ready. "Hey, you," he whistled at him like a dog, and the kid turned; Batman quickly descended on him from behind, sedating him with a shot to his neck. When the boy collapsed he caught him and then injected him with the decomposition inhibitor. Damian glanced up. "Well all in a day's work, and it's hardly even morning," he smirked, holstering his gun.

"Let's get him to the lab," Bruce said seriously. "And we'll need to find those kids to locate his family."

"Hopefully they all went back up the manhole," Damian muttered, starting back through the gunk in the sewer. Bruce hefted the kid up and followed Damian, carrying the boy in his arms. Rainwater ran between their boots, and Robin could feel it seeping through, cold and uncomfortable. _And I have the rest of my patrol to feel like this,_ he thought irritably. _Damp and chilly._ He paused when he heard splashing behind them, and he pulled Batman to a stop.

"Did you hear that?" he asked quietly, looking back down the tunnel from where they came. The sound didn't come again, but the unsettling feeling of a presence just outside of their line of sight took hold.

"Yes." Bruce stared off into the darkness for a moment before starting forward again. If it was an Infected, it would attack them no matter what they did, and he didn't want to leave the boy down here. "We need to get him above ground."

"Of course. I'll cover you," Damian walked behind Batman, on full alert, listening as the slow footsteps started in the water again.

"Stay close," Bruce warned. He picked up the pace, ignoring the water he kicked up around him and ignoring the footsteps behind them.

The light shone down from the open manhole, and Robin switched his night vision off, climbing the ladder quickly. Batman handed the unconscious kid up to him, and there was a weight on his cape suddenly, a tugging backward, gentle at first and then he was suddenly yanked back.

"Father!" Damian barked, looking down into the manhole.

Batman was pulled violently back, the Infected growling and spluttering behind him as he dragged him. Bruce fell back into the water. Quickly rolling to the side, he jerked his cape back. He wiped the murk off his mask as he tried to assess the situation. The Infected in front of him was falling to pieces, and the smell was almost more overwhelming than the gore.

"Back him towards the manhole!" Damian cried.

Through the skin hanging down its cheek, he could see the beaked nose, and a monocle cracked and shoved into the eye socket. Bruce grit his teeth. Despite the nearly totally decay of his body, he easily recognized Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin. The fact that he was once Bruce's enemy didn't mean he deserved his fate.

"He's past the point of saving," Bruce called, backing up and slowly reaching for his belt.

"I know," Damian muttered, and Penguin shot forward in a burst of speed, his eyes flashing as a horrible screech came from his throat, his hands clawing at the exposed skin on Batman's face. Robin dropped down on the Penguin's shoulder's, firing a shot into his head. Blood painted his uniform and he cried out in disgust when his foot sank into the Penguin's brittle shoulder with a horrible cracking noise. Bruce pulled him away from the body, checking for any visible cuts or wounds.

"You need to get back to the tower and get that blood cleaned off of you," he instructed.

"I'll be fine, it only hit the uniform," Damian muttered.

"You know I won't take that chance. Take the boy back to the tower and get cleaned up while I try and locate his family."

"Sure," Damian finally sighed slowly. "I'll be back out in a bit." He climbed the ladder carefully and hauled the boy over his shoulder. "But I'm taking the car," he added, looking down the manhole at his father.

"Not a scratch, Robin," Bruce warned. "Not a scratch." He grabbed a rung of the ladder as he prepared to climb. "And if your dog so much as drools on the seat…"

"Titus!" Damian whistled for him as Batman tossed him the keys. "Relax, Father. I _learned_ to drive in this thing," he smirked.

"I wish that reassured me," Bruce sighed. He glanced back at Penguin, his jaw clenching in frustration. "Return to patrol as fast as possible."

"Yes sir," Damian replied, jumping into the car. Batman turned and walked towards the boys who'd been in the sewers, stopping in front of them. Four of the five cowered behind the boy in front, the one that Robin had nearly drowned in sewage. He had dark hair, maybe brown, but it was hard to tell through the muck.

"Batman-" he stuttered, trembling. "We were trying to keep him out of trouble. Please…"

"Stay out of the sewers," Bruce said calmly. "And tell everyone you know to stay out of them." He doubted these particular boys would go back down, but he had the feeling their story would entice other boys to investigate. They would have to watch out for that on patrols. "What is his name and where are his family?" He studied each boy carefully.

"F-Frank Grant," the lead boy stuttered. "He lived alone with his mom in Downtown on State Street- 315 State Street-" Batman turned to walk away, pulling out his grappling gun. "Wait!" The boy cried, stepping forward, his hand brushing Batman's cape. Bruce stopped. "We didn't think- We didn't know that would happen," his voice trembled. "He got- he got bit a day ago by that- that _thing_ \- we hid him down there- that's why we tackled Robin, that's why we- we- lied to you- we just wanted him to be safe-" the boy started to cry, his hands still shaking. "And now he's never coming back…"

"And imagine how worried his mother is," Bruce reminded him. He hesitated for a moment. "The sooner we can help someone who's been Infected, the better off they are. We're only here to help, but we can't help you if you don't let us. That doesn't mean this is your fault." He put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder before turning away again.

"Batman," he stopped him again, swallowing his tears. "Thank you. P-Please save him," he whispered.

"Of course." Bruce nodded once before continuing away and firing his grappling hook.


	36. The One Where Joker Wants Harley

"Talk dirty to me," Selina whispered, walking around Bruce and rubbing his shoulders as she did, razor tipped gloves catching in his heavy cape. There was quite a collection of heroes around the two of them, and she couldn't help but grin. She leaned down next to Bruce's ear in his cowl and purred.

"Selina," Bruce growled under his breath, jerking his head away from her stiffly. She giggled and grabbed the ear of his cowl, dragging his head back so that she could leave her lipstick on his face with a kiss. Nightwing looked down and hid his giggle behind his hand, and Robin rolled his eyes.

"Are you two done yet?" Steph groaned. Bruce carefully removed Selina's hand, shooting her a look.

Selina wiped her lipstick off of his face carefully, avoiding scratching him with her claws. He turned his head away again.

"Shh," she scolded, turning his chin back so she could get the red off of his cheek. "There. All better, Darling," she purred, leaning down next to his ear again. "Just you wait till your break, big man. I want you on me. Make me scream," she whispered so only he could hear, her claws biting into his chest through the barely visible gaps in body armor.

"That is wildly inappropriate," he muttered forcefully, not turning his head to look at her.

"That's the point, gorgeous," she whispered back.

"What are we even waiting on?" Dick suddenly asked, louder than the quiet hum of conversation in the room around them. Bruce looked up.

"We just need Jason to-" He was cut off as Jason burst into the room.

"Sorry, sorry." He dropped into a seat beside Steph. "What'd I miss?"

"Besides the PDA and lively conversation?" Kate smirked. "Nothing, we were waiting on you."

Selina slipped her arms around Bruce's neck and rested her chin on his head. The whole family was gathered there. Dick smiled at the two of them. She mentally catalogued each face; it had been so long since they were all in the same room, she hadn't seen some of the others in what felt like months.

"Ready to go baby," she smiled, her chin still resting on Bruce's head. He sighed but let her be.

"We may have a problem on our hands."

"Shocker," Jason mutter and ignored the annoyed look Bruce gave him.

"There was another incident with an Infected in the sewers today," he finished.

"In the sewers? What was it, did we miss one at the…" Dick trailed off, watching Bruce.

"No. The Infected we found was a boy and the one who'd turned him. Oswald Cobblepot." He leaned forward, lacing his fingers in front of his chin. "The problem is, I know for a fact Cobblepot was in Arkham during the initial outbreak."

"So you're saying…?" Barbara looked at him curiously, taking her glasses off.

"Somewhere below us, there's a connection to Arkham," Dick crossed his arms.

* * *

Harley dropped onto the couch and buried her face into a pillow with a groan. Grappling down from the room Dick and she shared had hurt the worst, but every bounce from the long walk back to Arkham had shot a dull pain through the freshly stitched wound. She didn't want to move.

She glanced up when she heard movement from Joker's office. The sudden panic that she wasn't supposed to see Dick shot through her despite him having told her to go, and she was worried he was going to get upset with her again.

"Puddin?" she called tentatively.

"Don't _call me that_!" He shouted out at her, and then fell silent again. He opened the door, cocking his head a bit. "What?" he finally asked, walking across the room towards her. It was hot, and his Arkham jumpsuit sleeves were tied around his waist, leaving his arms exposed to cool off, his hair pushed back from his face. Harley likewise had her jacket stuffed under her right side to keep her left side from pressing into the couch cushions. It'd been much too hot to even consider continuing to wear it.

"I thought… I'd just tell you I'm back… since… you know." She pursed her lips self consciously.

"You were with the bat-brat, eh?" He narrowed his eyes a bit, like he was on the verge of commenting, but he instead walked towards the kitchen. "And how did that go?" He called back to her.

"Um, okay." Harley sat up a little. "I got an infection from…" she watched him head toward the kitchen, "a cut," she finished lamely. "So it wasn't really a chipper meeting."

"Uh-huh. And how did he react to said 'cut'?" Joker grinned slowly, bringing her a glass of water and taking a sip of his own.

"He… well… he, uh." She stared down at her water glass. "I don't really know." There had been an awkward tension, but Dick still hadn't said anything about it.

"Shame. How's the weather? As hot in here as it is out there?" He walked to the windows, smirking a bit.

"Sweltering," Harley sighed. She perked up a little as she watched. "So what have you been up to?"

"Conducting _experiments,_ " Joker grinned, running a hand through his hair as he looked down at her on the couch, returning to stand by her head.

"Ooo." She beamed. "With Crane? Any progress?" She rolled onto her back as she continued to smile up at him.

"I don't know, I was hoping that _Nightwing_ would tell _you._ " He dropped onto the couch behind her with a laugh, and she dropped her legs over his lap. "So. Any news?"

"Um," Harley chewed her lip, "not really. Let's see. Oh, Robin, Batwoman, and I think Batgirl are all alive." She grinned before she suddenly remembered. "And apparently they're crazier than us over there now cuz Nightwing got attacked by a crazy apocalyptic, zombie cult in the sewers."

" _Really_?!" Joker chuckled a bit and then sighed. "Kids these days… any other news from the sewers?"

"No…" she trailed off and thought about it in case. "No. Why?"

"Because that's the experiment. We threw about thirty zombies into the sewers to see if we could find a connecting tunnel under Gotham," he giggled. "They'll wreak havoc if they make it through, so it's a win-win."

"There's a way to Gotham?" Harley sat up. "Really? And the Bats don't know about it?" She giggled with him.

"Well _maybe._ We aren't sure, but we assume Croc had to get around somehow," he shrugged. He seemed… normal at the moment. The usual sadism in his eyes was gone, and he was calm and relaxed, even if his lips were turned up smugly. He admired her praise. Harley grinned wide.

"That'll make raids so much easier!" Plus there'd be a way for her to sneak in. Maybe she could see Ivy or even Selina. Maybe even Dick.

"Of course, but you know you can't go down there," he muttered, standing.

"What?" She started to stand up beside him but sank back onto the couch. "Why?"

"Cuz it's too dangerous, of course," he frowned and took her water glass away.

"But-" She pouted. "No it isn't." She crossed her arms. "It's just a few corpses wandering around."

"Yes it is," Joker insisted. There was an edge to his voice now, but Harley could tell that that definitely wasn't the reason he wanted her to stay out of the sewers.

"Ugh, fine." She fell back against on the couch, ignoring the sharp sting of pain from her stitches. "No one wants me to have any fun."

"I do," he assured her, his face twisted as if this was difficult to say. "Just… not with them." Harley stared up at him. She twisted her head to the side so she was looking at him sideways like she was trying to process what he'd said. Suddenly, she started smiling again.

"Aw!" she cried. "You're jealous!"

"I am _not_ jealous," he snapped, his hands balling into fists. "I'm just… not used to sharing…" Harley giggled and rolled up off the couch. She grabbed the sleeves of his jumpsuit tied around his waist as she stood in front of him.

"I like that you're jealous." She beamed up at him.

"I'm not," he insisted again, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Well I'd be _crazy_ jealous if you were seeing one of the Bats." She grinned at her joke before she paused to think about it. She would be jealous. And probably try and rip their throat out.

* * *

"We have to go down there and find the connection," Dick decided. They'd been 'discussing' what to do about the sewers for fifteen minutes now, and it was starting to get later in the morning. With all of them here, there was no one on shifts. "It's the only option. I can lead a party into the sewers-"

"-Not you," Barbara cried. "Damn it, did you miss everything that was just said? You can't go. You're still recovering from your last soiree into the sewers."

"Then who? Answer me that," he snapped right back.

"Dick," Bruce said in a warning tone.

"No one's going to do anything if we can't get out of here," Jason groaned, sinking into his chair.

"Why doesn't whoever's on city patrol just do it?" Steph suggested.

"City patrol is barely covered enough as it is," Cass argued.

"So get guards to cover them." Steph looked nearly as impatient as Jason. They'd argued this into the ground. "There's two people always on patrol. Have one check the sewers, one cover city and any possible sewer-zombie leakage-attacks or whatever, and the police monitor the people better."

"We don't know how difficult any connecting tunnels are going to be to find," Kate added. "Whoever is patrolling the tunnels can map where they've checked."

"They have no way of expecting an attack, and we have no way of knowing how many Infected are down there," Bruce objected. "No one should be alone."

"Come on," Jason groaned. "It's not like they can't just radio up for help."

"And you think that'll come fast enough?"

"So let's send the cops down there," Kate suddenly snapped. "Let's let them get eaten, and then follow the body trail to Arkham." Her scarlet hair was braided over her shoulder and her sharp, dark eyes were narrowed, focused on Bruce. Her tone was sarcastic. Challenging.

"Sending two people to patrol the exact same length of tunnel at the same time is a waste of resources," Barbara spoke up. "Besides, you know everyone at this table can take care of themselves down there, or if things get too bad, defend themselves long enough for backup to get there. You know it's the only option." Bruce leaned his elbows on the table and rubbed his temples.

"She's right, Darling," Selina said quietly, rubbing his shoulders with hesitation. He already seemed ready to snap, she didn't want to push him over the edge. He didn't know what to say.

"I thought the whole point of this was to get this thing sorted out before Arkham noticed," Jason pointed out. "Can't exactly do that sitting here can we?" He was shot several looks to indicate that he was clearly not helping. "The faster we get someone down there patrolling the sooner we know how big of a task it's going to be and can plan accordingly," he defended. Bruce sighed.

"Fine." He sat up straight. "Jason, start mapping the system so we know what we're up against. Keep in constant contact. Selina, you're his backup, but first go give Gordon an update." He looked at Damian. "You and Blackbat are on Arkham?" Damian nodded. "Maybe a few times on your patrol, _carefully_ and briefly check the Uptown sewers to find out if there is any activity up there. Do not take risks, and do not get noticed. Again, keep in constant contact. Comms on and _unmuted_ -" he glanced at Dick- "at all times. Only exception is when you're on break, here in the tower. Do not take risks," he repeated, staring each of them down, "and give constant reports. We need to fix this quickly and quietly."

* * *

"I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm _not_!" Joker shouted, running around the couch to get away from Harley as she chased him, giggling. "I'm not jealous!" he cried, stopping and catching her arms. He looked at her seriously, panting a bit. "Hey. I am _not_ jealous," he said seriously, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing breathlessly.

"If ya say so," Harley beamed, stepping closer to him, "but maybe I'll stick around just in case."

"Don't make that face at me," he giggled, and then tried to frown, holding her away. Joker smothered a snort, pushing the hair back that was falling into his eyes. Harley reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, brushing it away from his face.

"This is always the face I make. I can't stop making it." Her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

"No no no, you're doing the- the cute face. The 'I think I'm clever Mistah J just watch I'm smart too' face. Then you get all-" he waved his fingers by her face, swallowing hard- "you get all handsy."

"Well you won't, so I have to," she said simply and inched closer to him. "Is that a problem? Should I leave?"

"N-No- cuz then you'll go to _him_ ," Joker stuttered, hesitantly allowing her nearer. Harley's hands froze in his hair.

"You told me to go to see him." She stepped back guiltily.

"For- for information," his eyebrows knit and he took a step closer to her. "And for- for this-" he waved his fluttering hands again, swallowing hard. "The handsy stuff. I didn't think…" Joker touched her face, his eyes shining.

"Didn't think what?" Her hands hesitated at her sides. He was acting off. He almost seemed… gentle.

"I didn't think you'd- f-fall in l-love," he stumbled over the words, and then touched his lips like he wasn't sure how those words would taste until they were in the air. Joker laughed, but it wasn't cruel. It was just as hesitant as his words. "That sounded _insane_ out loud." Harley swallowed hard.

"It _is_ insane." She knew Dick loved her, but she knew she'd always come back to Joker. She and Dick couldn't last. It was impossible. "You know it's you," she murmured. He fixed light eyes on her, looking almost mesmerized. He took a deep breath and leaned his head back, looking down his nose at her with a smile.

"I know," he said coolly, but his voice shook a bit and he cleared his throat. Harley stepped closer to him again, tilting her head up toward him.

"Are you feeling okay?" She didn't think she'd ever heard him sound uncertain before.

"I'm fine," he breathed, not stepping back from her as he looked down at her, his lips parted a bit. He still looked unsettled, but he didn't move.

"Are ya sure?" She brushed a strand of his hair behind his ear. "You're just so… I dunno… calm."

"I'm calm," he repeated her, running a hand over the back of her neck, glancing down at her lips. He smiled slowly. "I'm fine." Harley tried not to squirm under his stare. He was always moving or working or laughing. Now he was still and she wasn't used to him just looking at her this long.

"Okay." She gave him a big smile. Joker grinned back, his thumb trailing along her hairline.

"Show me," he breathed, his eyes regaining some of their fire as he looked down at her.

"Show you what?" Her brow furrowed and her eyes glanced between his.

"Show me how to kiss you," Joker grinned, still holding her gaze. Harley beamed. She stood up on tiptoe, leaning her body toward his.

"Puddin," she give him a sly smile, "you already know how ta do that."

"No. Show me how _you_ want me to kiss you," he breathed, his lips brushing hers.

"I…" She stared at his lips. "I don't care," she breathed. "I just want you ta kiss me."

"But you do care. That's why you leave me. That's why you go to him," Joker glanced over her shoulder, and then carefully pulled her pigtail out, his eyes locking with hers again as he grinned. His hand twisted in her hair gently. "Now tell me," he whispered through his teeth, still smiling. Harley glanced toward his hand in her hair. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She wasn't sure what to feel.

"I… uh," she stammered, breathing hard. "I want…" What did she want? She stared up at him. At his smile. She didn't know."I want you…" her gaze flicked up to meet his, "to want me," she said finally. Joker smiled at her calmly and kissed her slowly, savoring the shock on her lips, the warmth of her touch, before pulling away. He wasn't smiling anymore. His face was pained, his eyes wide and stunned as he stared at her.

"Harley?" he let her go, stepping away from her. He touched his lips again and looked down, his breath catching. Joker laughed. _That doesn't prove anything_ , he chided himself, his ego smiling smugly at him from within. _That feeling wasn't anything._ He turned away from Harley, laughing and shaking his head again. Something in his stomach twisted when her hand touched his shoulder and he looked back, emerald eyes wild.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Her face was worried; she didn't know what she'd done to make him turn away.

 _Once more. Just to be sure…_ He stepped boldly towards her again and grabbed her face, kissing her hard. It felt cold, twisted, like he usually was when he kissed her, but he choked on it, his lips slowly betraying him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her closer, trying to contradict the uncertainty and _warmth_ in his kiss. Harley gasped, clinging onto his shoulders. She closed her eyes and sank into the kiss, drowning in the sensation of his lips on hers, his arms around her. Somehow Dick popped into her mind, and her eyes fluttered open. She shoved the memory of him into the back of her mind, closing her eyes and holding tighter to Joker. He finally broke off the kiss, gasping.

"What… What did you do?" He stared at her in shock. "My… My chest hurts…" He stepped back from her, running his hands through his hair. Joker smothered a laugh and then looked at his hands, laughing harder.

"Wh-What?" She rebalanced herself in his sudden absence. "I didn't do anything."

 _Yes she did._ "No…" _You really have snapped haven't you, Puddin?_ "Don't call me that…" Joker breathed, staring at her, his eyes narrowed in distrust. He suddenly smiled coolly. "I'm sorry." Joker stepped closer to her. "Where were we?"

* * *

"Finally," Dick muttered when Bruce released them all for their shifts. He knew he didn't have time to change his clothes before Supply left, but he still needed to talk to someone. He hurried out of the room and almost ran into Ivy waiting for Jason by the door. He blinked in surprise. "You," he muttered, and then shook his head. "I need to talk to you-" one gloved hand guided her away from the door as he glanced over his shoulder.

"I didn't do anything!" she said defensively.

"What? No, I need your help," he bit his lip, glancing at the door again. "I need some advice. A-About Harley." He turned his attention to her, his eyes hidden behind his mask, but she didn't need to read his face to know that he was tense. It was written all over his body language, and Dick crossed his arms.

"What about?" From his tone, she was certain Harley wasn't dead. At least that was a relief. Before Dick could say anything else Jason walked up. He looked between them in confusion.

"What's going on here?"

"I'm cheating on you," Ivy shrugged.

"Haha," he said drily, glaring at her.

"He wanted some advice on Harley."

Jason gaped at Dick. "And you asked her and not _me_?"

"It's- it doesn't concern you," Dick muttered.

"Nothing ever concerns you Jay," Steph smirked, walking up beside Dick.

"It's girl problems," Jason objected. "What's he going to do? Ask Damian?" Damian looked curiously at them at his name.

"I _actually_ didn't even ask _you_ ," Dick pointed out, his cheeks red.

"Oh look," Selina teased, noticing the group around Dick, "he's blushing." She wrapped her arm through Bruce's as she grinned.

"So what's up?" Jason asked, completely ignoring Dick's frustration with him.

" _Nothing_ , Jason, forget about it," Dick looked down.

"What's nothing?" Barbara came back to see what everyone was up to.

"We don't know. Dick won't tell us." Jason shrugged. Dick's face fell when he saw Barbara.

"Nothing! Its nothing!" He shouted suddenly, raising his hands. "Don't we have jobs to do right now? God," he snapped, walking away as he pressed his comm. "Establishing link; heading to supply now," he mumbled.

"No," Ivy grabbed his arm to stop him before quickly letting go. "Please. You can't just mention her and not tell me."

"Her?" Selina asked before perking up. "Is it Harley? Is she okay?"

"She-" Dick looked at all of them. "She's fine. It's fine. Can I go now?" He glared at Jason and Ivy.

"Why are you so snippy?" Jason accused. Ivy was behind him and still looked concerned, wanting to know about Harley. "I mean we all know you saw her again. Kinda hard to miss over comms."

"She…" Dick sighed, putting his hands on his hips as he looked down. "The Joker… Um… He _carved_ a 'J' into her chest. Like a brand. So I'd see it." He looked up at the ceiling and ignored the eyes on him, his face red. Dick cleared his throat. "And I don't know what to do about that." Ivy's face turned seething and Jason grabbed her arm as she tried to march off, his mouth hanging open.

"He what?" Selina hissed. Damian and Bruce wore almost matching expressions, their mouths hard lines.

"That's just awful," Steph gasped.

"Is that why you thought she was Infected?" Barbara asked quietly.

" _What_?" Ivy snapped, her eyes murderous. "She's Infected?"

"She's not. She… Somehow avoided that actually. But yes. That is why I thought she was Infected." Dick pursed his lips. "I don't know what to do," he said awkwardly.

"She can't stay there!" Selina cried. "It was always bad but that is crossing a line! Batman, we have to help her!"

Bruce glanced wordlessly at Selina, opening his mouth to speak when Damian cut him off.

"We can't."

"Robin, that's a little harsh," Barbara said hesitantly.

"It is. But there's nothing we can do for her so long as she stays with him of her own free will, and we have enough problems as it is," he said shortly, snapping his fingers for Titus to follow him as he walked back down the hall.

"Bruce that's not fair," Selina whispered, and he looked down.

"But it is correct." He said calmly. Nightwing nodded, hiding the anxiety in his chest. She wasn't helpless, but she was all alone there in Arkham. "We have more to worry about than just her. And our best shot is finding a cure and fixing this."

 _And hoping she doesn't die in the meantime,_ Dick thought, his heart pounding in his throat.

"How can you say that?!" Selina cried, stepping away from him.

"Selina…" Bruce sighed.

"I'm going to kill him," Ivy seethed. "Let me go Jason!"

"Ivy," Jason stopped her again.

"Don't 'Ivy' me. If he hurts another hair on her head…"

"Guys," Dick interrupted, spreading his arms. "We really do have patrols to get on. They're right. The world's not gonna save itself."

"Nightwing, you ought to be just as angry as Ivy," Selina crossed her arms. Dick exhaled sharply, and he closed his eyes behind his mask.

"I don't… She's not… What do you want me to say?" he breathed, biting his lip. He cleared his throat. He hated them for making him do this in front of every member of the family. "It's my fault," he looked down, his hands on his hips again. "It's my fault and I shouldn't see her anymore I just… I didn't think it would come to… that." he coughed a bit, crossing his arms insecurely. He was well aware of the eyes on him, the attention to his words hanging in the air. "But I don't want to. And I don't think she does either. So… there." Dick's voice dropped to a whisper near the end of his words, his cheeks burning. His stomach was in knots. Ivy yanked her arm free from Jason and marched up to Dick.

"Keep her safe," she warned. His jaw tightened a bit and he nodded shortly.

"I will. I promise."

* * *

Harley grabbed the sleeves tied around Joker's waist again and grinned up at him.

"Where do you want us ta be?"

"Preferably sitting atop a throne made out of the Bat's bones," he pondered, and then grinned at her.

"Still gonna rule Gotham one day?" she asked, trailing one of her hands up his arm.

"One day soon," he purred, still smiling down at her.

"And where does that leave me?" she teased. Her fingers brushed along the back of his neck. Joker smirked.

"Wherever you choose to stand." He leaned in and kissed her fiercely, pulling her against his chest. Harley pulled herself up on her tiptoes and giggled.

"I kinda like where I'm standing now," she murmured against his lips. Joker laughed and suddenly dipped her low to the floor, kissing her again. He hadn't paid this much attention to her in months, and it felt like it could end at any moment. Harley grinned, yanking him down and pulling them both down. She laughed as they rolled across the floor. Joker cackled with her, running a hand up her leg as he kissed her hard.

"Although maybe I prefer this to standing," Harley giggled. Joker grinned and gasped, letting loose a howling laugh. He kissed her again, and then bit her lip. Harley gasped, her mind flashing to Dick's lopsided grin at her body's involuntary reaction to him, her hands clawing at him, goosebumps rising at the skin on her leg where his hand grazed. She swallowed hard and grabbed the front of the Joker's shirt to pull him closer and kiss him hard. He grinned into her kiss, his nails biting into the skin on her leg, pulling her closer. Harley panted for air against his lips. Color crept into her cheeks, and she tried to focus on Joker, on his hands, on his lips. He rolled again and pushed her down to the floor, a hand tangled in her hair. His lips were harsh and at the same time- desperate. He seemed to want this just as much as her. He'd never felt…

 _Whatever I'm feeling._ He laughed into her mouth and kissed her again, running his fingers through her hair.

"We haven't done this in a while," Harley teased. She unwrapped his jumpsuit sleeves from around his waist and used them to pull him against her as she giggled. Joker laughed.

"We've been busy," he muttered. His hands caught her wrists and he pinned her down. Joker looked into her eyes, smiling darkly. His hands trailed up her arm, his lips brushing her neck. She giggled breathlessly, her back arching. She wrapped her legs around his waist to hold him against her. Joker bit her ear, laughing quietly. He pulled her closer and dragged her up by her shirt. Harley ran her hands through his hair and grit her teeth when it made her think of Dick. She ran her hands down his shoulders.

"You've never been this… patient before," she murmured.

"I'm… Trying… To hold back," he grinned. Pulling her up to his lips, he stood and dragged her to her feet suddenly, shoving her against the wall, his lips moving furiously on hers. She giggled.

"You've never held back before." She cupped his face as she kissed him back. Joker grabbed her pigtail and kissed her harder, a hand moving down her waist.

"True," he pondered, and then yanked her top off over her head. Harley sucked in a breath when the movement pulled at her stitches but ignored it. Instead her hands played with his jumpsuit, her lips seeking his. Just out of reach, he laughed, a hand pulling her knee to his hip. His hand wrapped around her pigtail, holding her head still, his lips brushing hers. "What do you say we-"

"-Joker! I have these notes for you and I came to pick up Dent-" Crane called as he stepped off of the elevator. When he looked up, he stopped. Harley was topless, her makeup smeared and one pigtail still in, and the Joker turned his head to glare at Scarecrow over his shoulder. His jumpsuit untied at the waist, his pants slid down his knees. Crane swallowed hard. _Oh, this will be a beating later…_ "I'll just… Leave this on the table," he muttered, backing into the elevator. Harley tried to hide herself behind the Joker. She was still breathing hard and her cheeks turned red as she turned away from Crane. He disappeared down the elevator and Joker pushed his hair back, taking a deep breath.

"Well. That one shot the mood in the face," he grinned, looking at Harley. "He'll pay for that one and I bet he knows it."

"It wasn't his fault," Harley tried to protect him. She reached up and brushed his hair out of his face. "He couldn't know." Joker and her hadn't been together in so long, Crane probably hadn't even considered the possibility. Joker pondered this, frowning slightly before grinning.

"What the hell? You've got me feeling generous, Doll," he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her neck. Harley giggled.

"So he didn't kill the mood?" Her hands trailed up his back.

"You said it yourself. _We_ haven't done this in so long…" He trailed off, grinning against her skin. "I need you, Harley," he suddenly purred in her ear. Her breathing hitched and her hands clawed at his back.

"Please," she breathed.

"Please what?" he asked, biting her ear.

"I need you," she begged, "please."

"Again," he grinned, lifting her up, her legs around his waist, his hips pressing to hers.

"I need you," she gasped. Her hands clung onto his neck. "I need this… you… Please."

"Hmmm… _Beg_ me," he urged again, his lips brushing hers as one hand toyed with her belt.

" _Please_ ," she breathed. She clung onto him, her pulse racing.

"Oh alright," he laughed, leaning in to kiss her as he pulled her chest against his, pinning her against the wall with his hips. Joker bit her lip and his hand tightened on her waist. She ran her hands up to cup his face, giggling and gasping for air against his lips before kissing him back fiercely. "Whoa, there's my girl," Joker chuckled against her lips, caught in a kiss again. He dropped her on her feet and pulled her shorts down, dragging her into his office, his lips still busy with hers, and he tore off her clothes as he went, shoving her back so that she fell over the arm on the desk chair and landed against the desk. His laugh rose from his throat when he kissed down her chest, leaving her leaning against the edge of the table. He laughed cruelly again.

"Puddin," her breathing hitched. The desk was cool against her skin and the spot where she slammed into it stung, but she pulled him closer to hold him against her and she tried to rip his clothing off. Joker still laughed, grabbing her wrist and clasping a cuff around it, forcing her back on the desk and cuffing her to the leg with one hand. His hand trailed back down her arm and down her chest, grabbing her hip as he leaned over her and kissed her hungrily. She'd worked his tank top off, his thinly muscled back pale in the darkened office. "Mistah J?" The handcuff rattle against the desk as she tested its limits. Instead she grabbed onto his shoulder with her free hand to hold him against her.

"Yes, Doll?" He grinned against her lips.

"Do you not want me ta play?" she teased. She trailed her free hand along his back but the cuffed hand couldn't reach.

"Hmmm…" He considered this, smiling slowly as he unlocked the cuffs. "Force of habit, I suppose. Go ahead. Wow me." Harley giggled as she wrapped her legs around his waist and used it to roll them over. She grinned down at him laying on the desk before she pressed herself against him, her lips trailing along his jaw, her hands creeping down his waist.

"How am I doin?" she murmured against the corner of his mouth.

"Hmmm, decent," he muttered, smiling slowly. The corners of her mouth turned down, but she slowly worked his waistband down.

"You're a hard man to please." She kissed both corners of his smile.

"I think I could surprise you," he laughed, catching her lips in a kiss. Harley giggled.

"Really? Cuz that sounds interesting." Her legs tightened around his waist as she beamed at him. Joker tensed a bit, laughing.

"You'll have to do better than that," he beamed, one hand in her hair pulling it. Harley's lips pouted, inwardly crushed he wasn't pleased.

"Spoilsport," she muttered before grinning. She rolled them over again. "Why don't ya show me what you want?" she teased, trying not to sound forced, and smiled. If she couldn't make him want her, she wanted him to have what he wanted. Joker thought for a moment, smiling darkly. He suddenly shoved her back; slamming her against the wall, biting her neck. His fingers dug into her skin, and he kissed down her chest. He caught her hands and pinned her arms to the wall, his tongue slipping into her mouth as he kissed her, beaming, his hips pressed to hers. Harley tried to gasp at the sudden pain, but his lips cut her off. She leaned into his kiss but her arms went slack against the wall. For the first time, her mind didn't turn to Dick. This was completely different. This was the complete control only Joker asked for. His hands tightened on her wrists and he grinned in satisfaction as she submitted to the force, melting into his kiss.


	37. The One With The Hero Complex

"Nightwing, heading out to Arkham shift," Dick pressed his comm. There was a collective groan over the line, and Catwoman cleared her throat.

"Permission to join Batwoman to help her with her shift?" she asked.

"Selina…" Bruce sighed.

"It's fine. You're in the labs, I'm on break," she smiled. "I got some sleep, I'll cover for Dick."

"Guys wait-"

"-oh have you just now noticed how selfish you're being?" Stephanie muttered.

"Spoiler," Batman warned. He hesitated. "Last time, Nightwing," he said calmly. "From now on, you can not skip your Arkham Patrol for this woman. Do you understand me."

Dick hesitated, closing his eyes. He bit his lip. "Yeah. Yeah, I hear you loud and clear."

"You're going too easy on him," Batwoman muttered. "But go ahead. Go see your girl."

"Say hi to her for me!" Selina added.

Dick hesitated and then closed his eyes. This almost made him feel more guilty than sneaking around, which honestly, was probably their point.

"Last time," he agreed. Nearly half an hour later he stood at the foot of his house with Harley. It was cloudy and a chill hung in the air, refreshing after the sweltering days before. It also seemed unnatural, and Dick pulled his GCPD jacket closer around his arms. He grappled up and landed on the balcony.

"Harley?" he called with a smile, looking around the room.

"Stop right there!" Her arm popped up over the couch as she pointed at him. "Am I allowed to get my hopes up about a tiny hot dog puppy?"

Dick took Oscar Meyer out of his jacket with a smile, dropping his mask on the dining table. "Go get her," he whispered, sending the dog trotting away towards Harley. She sat up with a squeal. Oscar scampered up to her and put his paws on her leg. She picked him up and squeezed him, giggling.

"Hi buddy."

Dick watched her, smiling. "How've you been? I hope not causing too much trouble?" He took his comm out.

"You know it." She laid down and set the dog on her chest, playing with his ears. "What about you? Get a scolding?" She giggled.

"Quite a bit, actually," he laughed, walking towards her as he pulled out a lighter and began lighting candles. "You, hot stuff, have caused me a lot of trouble."

"Happy to help," she teased. She scooped Oscar up in her arms as she stood up. "Candles?" She wandered over to him. "Isn't it just getting light out?"

"Yes, but it's also cold. I was going to shut the windows…" he straightened, again, smiling at her. "Well hello, beautiful."

"Shhh." She put a hand over Oscar's ears. "If you compliment him like that, it'll go to his head." She laughed when he wiggled his head free. Dick rolled his eyes and stole a kiss on her cheek.

"We wouldn't want that," he chuckled, walking across the room. It _was_ dark in their little makeshift apartment, and he hadn't noticed the bruises that she'd tried to conceal.

"So what have you been up to?" Harley kissed Oscar's head and set him down so he could sniff around.

"Hightailing it all over Gotham," he admitted. "Ever since the mess in the sewers, it's drawn people's curiosity." Silhouetted in the light still coming through the open balcony doors, Dick took off his gloves and began taking off his weapons, placing them on the table.

"And people aren't allowed ta muck around… in the muck?" She flopped back onto the couch.

"Not when there are Infected crawling all over down there," Dick countered, leaning over the back of the couch to look at her. "We don't know where the hell they came from. Somewhere there must be a connecting line to Arkham," he muttered, and then his eyes went wide. "Do _not_ repeat that." She giggled and poked his cheek.

"Hey! Anyone I know?" She spun around and sat up in front of him. Dick thought for a moment.

"Penguin almost took Robin out. He was gross, too, I don't know how long he's been down there but it's been a while. Seriously, don't repeat that." he had that gut wrenching anxiety in his stomach, the kind that comes with knowing you've royally fucked up. Harley didn't even seem to notice, though.

"Penguin!? Really!?" She grinned. "How is he-" she cut off when she realized what he said, and her face fell. "How _was_ he?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry Harles," Dick smiled a little and put a hand on her knee before he kissed her head and stood up. "I brought food. Are you hungry?" he asked, walking back to the table.

"Sure." She stood up, picking up the dog from where he was sniffing the couch and trailed after him. Dick pulled out some small, poorly made sandwiches and bags of chips, handing Harley two of the sandwiches and leaving her to choose what else she wanted. Dropping into a chair, Dick unwrapped his sandwich. "So how have you been?" he asked, an arm over the back of the chair as he bit off part of his sandwich.

"Um," she sat cross legged in the chair across from him with Oscar in her lap, "good. Better than Penguin I guess." She shrugged, picking up one of the sandwiches.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, leaning forward suddenly and pushing her pigtail gently over her shoulder so that he could look at the bite marks on her neck. His expression didn't change, and he leaned back to take a bite of his sandwich again. "Rough night?"

"Oh, um… not really." She hesitated before continuing. Joker knew about her relationship here; she wasn't being fair to Dick. "He kinda gave me the cold shoulder over the past month and had a bit of a breakdown when you an' I saw each other again. But we made up." She shrugged. "He says he's fine with us, and we… ya know." She looked down as she picked at her sandwich. Dick didn't like Joker and she knew that. And she was a little worried he was as opposed to sharing as him. She didn't know if Dick really thought about her relationship with him.

"Weird. Not the craziest thing I've ever heard, but weird," Dick commented, pursing his lips. Finishing his sandwich, he grabbed another one. "So he knows what we do?" he asked. She reached up and played with her pigtail.

"For the most part. I haven't really told him anything; he just always seems to know."

"Thats… Disturbing…" He frowned, watching her. Harley shrugged. She pet Oscar as he fell asleep in her lap.

"Thought you'd like to know," she said mildly.

"I guess. You look nice today, by the way," he smiled at her. She giggled.

"Am I supposed ta take that as a compliment?" she teased. "I mean you have been playing in the sewers. Anything looks nice compared to that."

"God, it's a nightmare," Dick confessed. "I could live with never seeing another zombie." Harley let out a snort of laughter and Oscar jolted.

"Let me know how that works out."

"Oh I know. It's all changed, now, though. Ever since…" He glanced up at her, biting his lip.

"Ever since you got a really bad infestation in your sewers?" she guessed. "I hope you all take regular showers or you'll smell worse than them." She giggled, biting into her sandwich.

"No, um, ever since my brother got Infected," he said quietly with a small smile. They'd barely had time to breathe let alone really stop and mourn Tim. Dick couldn't let himself think about it.

"Oh," Harley set her sandwich back down, "I'm sorry." She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and Oscar nosed at her leg in annoyance.

"No don't worry about it, we're working on a cure," he leaned forward, turning her chin up with a smile. "He'll be alright."

"You heroes are always so optimistic." She rolled her eyes. "There's just as much chance everyone dies." She leaned back spinning her sandwich in her hands. "It's just very unhero-y to say."

"It is," he agreed. "If we didn't have hope, we'd have nothing left."

"Well there are some things left." She kissed his cheek before setting Oscar on the floor and standing up. "Admittedly less people. And food," she added with a grin. "I still really want some cake."

"I have _no idea_ where you would get that. Even if I could manage to get you the ingredients, how would you cook it?" He laughed, looking up at her as he put his boot up on the chair she'd vacated.

"Well I'm also _seriously_ craving ice cream, so if you think _that's_ any easier," she teased. Dick smiled up at her.

"Maybe easier than cake, actually," he laughed, running a hand down her arm and taking her hand in his.

"Don't get my hopes up, hero, because apparently that's all I have left," she taunted, giving him a quick kiss and laughing. She slid her hand out of his as she went to search for a bowl to fill with water for Oscar. Dick smiled to himself, enjoying how domestic their time together was beginning to seem. They held conversation so casually, with a brief kiss every now and again, it made Dick feel like he'd known her for so much longer than he had. He tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought. Harley found a bowl in the mini kitchen, glad they'd chosen a suite style place, and filled it. She sat on the floor, and the dog ignored the bowl as it sniffed at her arms. She giggled as she watched him walk around her. Dick glanced up as thunder rumbled outside, and he smiled a little, getting up and walking into the small kitchen.

"How's Oscar?" He smiled down at Harley and the dog, leaning against the doorframe.

"Cute." She scooped the dog up. "I mean look at that wittle face." She held him toward Dick as she laughed. He grinned and ran a hand over the dog's smooth fur, laughing a little.

"Good. You take him, he's been causing enough trouble at my place," Dick smirked, scratching Oscar's ear.

"He has?!" Harley gasped and giggled. "That's my boy." She kissed the dog's head. Dick laughed.

"Poison Ivy misses you, too. Of course she didn't _say_ that," he added with a smile.

"She never does." She laid down next to Dick, her face beside his leg, and she smiled up at him as she set Oscar on her stomach. He put his hands on his hips and looked down at her, chuckling a bit.

"You two are too cute," he muttered, nudging her shoulder with his boot.

"Care to be cute with me?" She teased and raised her eyebrows.

Dick pretended to think for a moment. "If I can get down there I think I might," he smiled, kneeling and falling onto his back beside her with a groan. He turned his head to look at her.

"Out of the entire place we end up laying on the kitchen floor." She made a face at him. "We _are_ cute." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Mm, I don't think I could beat you in cuteness," he grinned, sighing slowly.

"Well it is kinda my specialty. But your rousing speeches about hope are a pretty good quality," she giggled.

"Yeah," he laughed and looked up at the ceiling. "At least I've got that going for me…" She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Among other things," she whispered. Dick smiled and closed his eyes.

"And here I thought you liked me because of my riveting speeches and because I fed you," he breathed, the smile still lingering on his lips.

"Both good reasons," she agreed. "But no one else lays on the floor with me." She nudged him with her elbow before glancing at Oscar.

"Oh don't take him for granted," Dick scratched the dog's ear, smiling at her. He watched her face, biting his lip. His eyes were so blue they seemed to reflect the skies, light and utterly endless. Anything could be behind them, and though they could be stormy, cloudy, or gray, there would always be blue there. He smiled a little. "Can I say it?" he asked quietly, his lip catching in his teeth again. She looked back over at him; her eyes caught in his stare for a moment before she looked away, blushing.

"You really shouldn't."

"Then I won't," he mused, a smile in his voice. She felt his lips on her neck, his breathing calm and steady against her skin. She smacked his cheek. Dick cried out and laughed in surprise.

"Well now I know you were gonna say it." She turned her head so they were almost nose to nose. "So stop thinkin' it." She reached one hand up and cover his eyes. "And stop lookin' at me like that."

"You… You hit me in the face," he laughed, a hand reaching up to pull at her slender fingers covering his eyes as he grinned. He moved his hand away and touched her face tentatively, trying to feel her soft skin, the gentle curve of her cheeks; his hand was suddenly on the back of her head, pulling her lips to his. Dick smirked as he kissed her, but it was playful; his kiss wasn't sadistic or controlling or harsh, and in that moment, she could truly tell the difference between the two of them.

"You're a big boy," Harley whispered and grinned, her lips brushing his. "You can handle it."

"I'll live," he agreed. "But I don't know if you're the type that can be 'handled,'" Dick sighed, grinning.

"Nope." She giggled, and Oscar pawed at her in annoyance. She kissed Dick's nose. "So who's covering for ya? Batwoman? She's a bit less scary than Robin."

"Batwoman, yeah. And Catwoman. She says hi, by the way," he smiled down at the dog.

"Catwoman?" Harley sat up so suddenly Oscar tumbled to the floor. "Selina's in Uptown?! Really?!"

"Yeah? Usually Batman doesn't let her up here but she volunteered today-"

"-How is she? She's fine, right? I mean I thought she was dead. I haven't seen her in so long?" Harley talked faster as she got excited. "Does she still carry her whip around? Did she steal all the diamonds in Gotham? How _is she_?!"

Dick laughed a little, sitting up. "Um… She's fine? She and Batman are married, and she's been going through some stuff lately. She's been depressed for a while now and getting bitten didn't help that. And yes, she did go through almost every jewelry store in the city, and she makes sure to stop when we go out to get supplies, too," Dick chuckled.

"She got married!" Harley gasped. "And she didn't invite me!?" She looked genuinely offended. "No wait, hold on. Scratch that. She was _bitten_?!"

"Yeah. We caught it in time, but there are lasting effects." Dick hesitated. "Do you want to see her?"

"Well…" She hesitated and looked at him sheepishly. "Can I?"

"Of course, Harley," he laughed, standing. "I couldn't bear to deny you anything, my princess," he laughed and helped her up, "besides. She misses you too." Harley giggled and practically bounced around in excitement.

"I haven't seen her in forever! We haven't seen each other since we hated each other," she added.

"I thought you three were friends…" Dick muttered as he put his comm in his ear.

"Catwoman, secure line," he said calmly. It wasn't uncommon for a couple of people to break off to a separate feed to chat, but it was hardly acceptable on an open-comm policy.

"Checking in," she switched her feed.

"Acknowledged. I have someone here who wants to see you," he smiled at Harley. She squealed and put her ear next to his like she hoped she'd be able hear his comm.

"Selina!?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I can drop in. I won't stay too long, though, don't want to get in the way," she giggled.

"Good. On my coordinates, the balcony doors that are open. Use your grapple gun," he took his comm out, smiling at Harley. "Happy now?" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight as she laughed.

"Thank you thank you thank you!"

"Whoa," he smiled, hugging her back. "So much praise might go to my head you know," he laughed. Harley broke away from him as she practically danced around.

"Then you should see the praise you woulda gotten if you coulda somehow managed to get Selina _and_ Ivy here," she teased, still beaming. Dick watched her happily, crossing his arms.

"I think I can get Ivy here, if I tried, maybe not together. I could get you to the bridge, and you two could meet." Dick stretched, yawning a bit. She moved back over to him.

"Thank you," she said seriously, giving him a kiss.

"That's more like it," he laughed against her lips, kissing her again as his arms fell around her waist. Harley swatted his arm but giggled before grabbing his face and kissing him harder. Dick moaned in surprise and kissed her back, his eyebrows raised.

"Hope I'm not interrupting you two cuties," Selina grinned as she sauntered towards then from the windows, taking her cowl off and shaking out her choppy black hair. Harley shrieked with glee as she abandoned Dick and ran over to Selina, nearly tackling her in excitement.

"You're not dead!"

"Wish I was, sometimes, with how the world's turned out," she laughed, hugging her tight. "I see you're not dead too," Selina smiled and held her at arm's length to look at her.

"Not yet," Harley agreed with a smirk. She grabbed Selina's wrist. "I was told…" She gasped at her ring finger, holding it up. "You didn't!"

"Yeah I did," she laughed, smiling more than Dick had seen her smile in a long time. "Batsy caught me in the end. Talked to me the way I liked," she wiggled her finger with the ring on it, with a smile at Dick. He smirked and picked Oscar up.

"Ugh, Batman. Gross." Harley wrinkled her nose but was too happy to keep from smiling altogether. Selina laughed and glanced over Harley's shoulder again.

"Well what about you, huh?" She grinned slyly. "You coming over to join me and Ivy yet?" Selina played with Harley's pigtail, raising her eyebrows.

"Stop it." Harley rolled her eyes. "And how the hell did you get bitten?" she demanded. "You know I'm the only one allowed to do crazy stuff. Or else you'll have to come join me."

"It was nothing," she breathed, unconsciously rubbing her shoulder, but then she smiled again. "And you already are doing something crazy," she giggled, walking to Dick and putting an arm over his shoulders. "Everyone thinks he's batty for falling for you," she giggled at her own pun, "and when I married the Bat, the birds became my sons. So you treat him good." Her heels clicked as she walked back towards Harley with a smile. "Well. Provided he treats _you_ good."

"Well _that_ doesn't sound like you," Harley laughed. "Never thought good was what you wanted from a man," she teased.

"Hey, I didn't say nice, I said good, Selina beamed, looking at her ring. "And believe me. Batsy is _good._ " Harley giggled before hugging her again.

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Sweetie," Selina closed her eyes, her voice cracking a bit. She smiled. "Just let me look at you." Her smile was sad when she moved back, scrutinizing Harley again. "Oh, honey…" Her thumb ran over the bandage under Harley's collarbone. Selina watched her with sad eyes and then smiled again.

"Oh stop being so mopey." Harley swatted at her hand. "Everything's fine and being sad really puts a downer on things. Besides, just ask Dick how effective a smile can be at getting what you want," she teased, smirking at Dick. He shook his head and walked away into the bedroom, carrying Oscar with him.

"I'm always mopey, ask any of them," Selina rolled her eyes and smirked. "So?"

"So what… chicken butt?" Harley shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on, when are you giving this up and coming with me and Ivy? Seriously," she added when Harley scoffed. Selina crossed her arms.

"No seriously. I love Mistah J and he," she waved vaguely at the bedroom, "-and I… well I don't really know, but stop prying. You really are a mom now," she muttered.

"Thats right and I want all my little babies safe. That includes the rebellious ones who don't think they need my help," she smiled a little, poking Harley's arm. "Just think about it. You may not know this, but he loves you more than the Joker ever will. And if you love the Joker more than you love that good hearted, sweet, stupid guy in there… Well." Selina pursed her lips, looking down. "Just think about it. Ivy and I miss you."

"I miss you too." Harley rolled her eyes. " _Mom_." She grinned. "Mopiness and all."

"Jeez tell me I wasn't always like this," she laughed and then her hand went to her ear as she paused. "Yes, Darling, I'm fine. Stop watching my tracer on screen." Glancing at Harley, Selina shook her head. "I need to be on patrol. I'm covering for him today," she jerked a head towards the bedroom. "You two have fun. And come see me again," Selina urged.

"Or you could just come see me again," Harley suggested. "We could send him off ta do his actual patrol while we catch up." She pulled Selina in for another hug.

"Oh I know," she squeezed her shoulders. "We'll see each other again."

Not if Joker had his way, Harley realized. "We better." She gave Selina one final squeeze before letting her go. "Now get outta here before you get all mopey about having to say goodbye."

"Bye Sweetie," she laughed, walking to the windows and jumping over the ledge.

"Bye!" Harley called after her, smiling a little to herself. She looked around the empty living room. "Where did you take my puppy off to?" she asked in a loud voice.

"We're in here!" Dick called from the bedroom's bathroom. When she walked in, Dick was knelt outside of the bathtub, playing with Oscar in the water. Harley giggled and sat down beside him.

"What, no rubber duckies? I am so very disappointed." She grinned as she watched the dog splash through the water.

"Surprisingly enough, five star hotels don't have them lying around," Dick pondered, smiling. He dumped a cup of water over Oscar's head and the dog stopped to look at him in what looked like annoyance, water dripping over his ears.

"Well that's just ridiculous and is added to the list of things I don't miss." She looked around the bathroom. "This one didn't even come with plushy robes. Or slippers." She grinned at him. "I say we riot."

"Riot? Just the two of us?" Dick laughed. "How about we go looking for some? There has to be some somewhere in this building."

"I refuse!" she cried dramatically. "And I insist we move immediately. Well, after he's finished his bath." She grinned at the dog. Dick gasped and covered Oscar's ears.

"We can't just uproot when he's growing up here!" he whispered dramatically, smiling.

"I'm sure he would rather live in a loving home than _this_!" she argued. "I mean, no rubber ducks or robes?! He doesn't wanna grow up here." She giggled. Dick laughed a little harder.

"Are robes and rubber duckies all you care about?" he cried, grabbing a towel and picking Oscar up out of the tub.

"They're important for a well rounded life," Harley scolded. "Next you'll tell him he can't play fetch." She shook her head in disapproval, her eyes sparkling.

"He can play whatever he wants, so long as we stay put," Dick walked into the bedroom and set Oscar down, rubbing him with the towel as he wagged his tail. Harley hopped onto the bed, laying on her stomach.

"Fine. If it means that much to you." She stuck her tongue out as she giggled. Dick smiled and dropped Oscar on her back, and he walked up to her shoulders, trying to lick her face. Dick smiled at them and yawned again, shaking his head.

"What am I gonna do with you two."

"Feed us." She shrugged before smirking. Reaching up, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down toward her. "Give us baths when we get dirty," she added, her lips brushing his. Dick inhaled sharply and he smiled, his light eyes looking between hers.

"I think I can keep you satisfied," he breathed, a smile creeping over his lips.

"Who says I'm ever satisfied?" she teased. "And with no cake or ice cream…" She trailed off with a smirk. "Or pizza!" she suddenly added and her face lit up. "God I miss pizza."

"Don't remind me," he flopped down on the bed and Oscar curled up in his side. Dick sighed, staring at the ceiling, his dark hair falling over the blankets in tangled waves. Harley dropped her face into the blankets. It popped back up after a few seconds.

"I'm bored," she complained. "Bring any party games?"

"No," he laughed. "I have nothing to offer you," he sighed in resignation, his eyes shining.

"Boo." she laughed. "But at least you brought me a sandwich." Dick nodded and smiled, putting a hand under his head as he wordlessly watched her. His gaze was so deep he seemed to see right through her. Harley looked down, away from his gaze, at Oscar and scratched his ear. "So what do we talk about now? I think it's your turn to decide."

"I am absolutely… Obsessed with you," he grinned, still watching her. "Completely smitten."

"That," Harley couldn't stop the blush from flooding her cheeks, "is not a topic of conversation." She stared determinedly down at the dog as he slowly blinked his eyes closed.

"And why not?" he asked, still smiling as he sat up and leaned his head down to look at her face. "It's true. You drive me crazy," he smiled broader, kissing her blushing cheek. She winced.

"Don't say that." She had sudden image of Dick crazy, Dick like the Joker, Dick even like her made her flinch away from the idea, and she couldn't explain to herself why.

"Fine," he shook his head, standing. A smile flashed across his lips and he suddenly leaned down by her ear. "Love you," he breathed, and then straightened, walking across the room to the doors. Harley's heart raced, but she had a feeling everyone's heart did that when someone said those words. No matter what.

"Where are you going?" She watched him curiously, hesitant. There was always a part of their relationship she wasn't sure how to handle.

"To find you a plushy robe," he grinned, leaning against the door. When Harley crossed the room to him, he kissed her quickly. "Tag, you're it," he breathed against her lips. Dick glanced out the windows and then sprinted towards them, grabbing an escrima stick before he leapt over the railing. She heard him crash through the window one floor below, and Oscar looked up from the blankets with mild interest, and then snuggled down again.

"Stay," she told the dog before heading over to the couch to grab her grappling gun. "You asked for it," she said to herself before grinning. She ran toward the balcony, firing her grappling hook as she dove over the railing. Releasing the cording when she swung toward the shattered window, she tumbled into the room. Shattered glass was scattered across the floor, and Harley paused to make sure she hadn't cut herself before looking around for Dick. She could hear him laughing down the hall, the door open into the dark.

"Come and get me!" he called, his voice echoing in the eerie empty hotel. Harley dashed out into the hall and turned in the direction she thought he'd gone. Halfway down the hall she paused and looked around.

"Marco?" she called hopefully.

"Polo," Dick called behind her, and she spun to see him at the end of the hall by the stairway door, smiling at her. "You're slow," he commented, and even from here, in the dark, she could tell there was a gleam in his eyes.

"Well you cheated to start out," she defended, inching closer to him with a small smirk.

"Oh and I'm not going to make it easy on you," he laughed, suddenly darting through the stairway door. "Come on, Harley Quinn!" he cried, laughing before the door closed and muffled the sound. She chased after him. When she shouldered her way through the door, she pulled her grappling gun back out and fired it at the center of the ceiling. She jumped over the rail and used the cord to drop down between the floors, cackling with laughter. Dick cried out and jumped back from her.

"What the hell-" he laughed, falling back against the wall and then bolting through the second floor door. "Almost had me, hot stuff!" he cried over his shoulder, still grinning. He ducked around a corner and listened for her before slipping down a hall, ducking through a couple of doors, and slipping behind a vending machine. He watched Harley go past before he stepped silently out behind her. "You know, I'm not used to being the hunted," he breathed by her ear, grinning still. Harley spun around, breathing heavy but still smiling.

"Ya know I think I saw this in a horror movie once. It doesn't end well." She grabbed the tip of his jacket and pulled him toward her before he could dance away. "You got cocky." She gave him a kiss. "You're it." She beamed at him before dashing away. "And I still don't see a robe!" she called over her shoulder.

"We've got to find one. Maybe downstairs in the lobby where they'd sell you more?" he shouted back, running after her.

"Cheater cheater pumpkin eater!" she laughed. "I'm not telling you where I'm going!" She disappeared down the hallway. Dick followed her, hesitating and listening for her footsteps. She was quiet, he believed that. She always had been. But he was well trained. Well versed in the art of listening for her light footsteps. He looked to the side and did a double take, grinning at the robes hanging in a storage closet. He snatched one and started down the hall again.

"Marco," he called, laughing.

"Polo!" Her voice was teasing, and he could tell from her laughter she was moving between rooms as it muffled. Dick smiled, pausing to listen again.

"Marco," he cried again, following the sounds.

"Polo." She quickly ducked into a room and slowly eased the door shut. Halfway closed, a clatter made her snap her head toward the end of the hall. She inched the door further shut as she frowned. She hadn't heard Dick pass her to head down the hall. The laundry room was creepy in the dark, and Harley crept among the industrial dryers. There were abandoned carts of linens everywhere and she carefully skirted around them. There was the sound of popping metal like she'd leaned against one of the machines, and she looked around from where she stood in the center aisle. A quiet scuffing told her that Dick had found her hiding place, so she crept toward the side as a door creaked across the room. She froze. The noise came from two different sides.

She straightened up, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she scanned the hulking shadows of the washers.

"Boo!" Dick cried behind her, suddenly engulfing her in the robe he'd found. Harley let out a surprised scream and spun around to face him.

"You scared me!" she accused. Her heart was still hammering in her chest. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "Does this mean I'm it?" She grinned.

"Hell yes," he grinned, kissing her slowly, pulling her close by the robe around her shoulders. Harley giggled and bunched her hands in his shirt.

"I see you found them," she teased before kissing him again. Dick smiled into her kiss and his thumb hooked in her shorts at her hip.

"I did, that way you have all the fixings you need for a loving home for our Oscar Mayer," he laughed, kissing her slowly and deliberately. The robe was soft around her shoulders, drawing her in.

"Well, almost." She gave him a quick kiss between her words. "But I guess it'll hafta do," she giggled before biting his lip. Her fingers trailed along his chest. Dick smiled against her lips, and the metal popped behind her again. He went tense suddenly, looking over her shoulder, smile vanishing.

"Did you…" He trailed off, speaking quietly, a hand tight on her arm.

"What?" She looked around. "No." She couldn't see anything in the shadows; she squinted at the nearest washer. Dick hesitated a moment longer, taking a deep breath.

"It must've been something else. Come on, let's go," his hand slipped into hers, and he pulled her out of the laundry room and up the staircase. He halted as an Infected fell down the stairs in front of them, stopping on the landing and pulling itself up on the railing. Dick turned Harley around and pushed her back towards the laundry room, grabbing a mop and barring the door handle behind them. "That's weird. I thought I heard one in here-" He was cut off as Harley was yanked backwards with a scream into the dark room. He called her name as he tried to grab her hand but he missed, and the zombie in the stairwell burst through the door that had been barred, clawing at his shoulders and dragging him back.

Harley choked off her surprise and lashed out. She was dropped to the floor and quickly scurried to the side. She made a run for it to where she'd last seen Dick; she could hear him struggling but she'd couldn't see him in the dark. "Dick!"

"It's ok! I'm ok-" his voice choked off and he struggled to throw the zombie off of him, trying to reach the escrima stick he'd tucked into his boot. "Harley- be careful!" he shouted. "I'm over here-"

"I'm on my way!" She angled toward him. Suddenly her foot slid out from under her as the Infected grabbed her ankle, and she crashed to the floor. She rolled onto her back and kicked it in the face. It hissed and crawled back toward her. She couldn't even tell if it had been a man or a woman, it's hair slick with blood and its face clawed beyond recognition. She didn't have her gun, she'd taken it off when she's arrived at the tower, so she pulled her grappling gun out it and aimed it at the face. The zombie continued to spit at her, its eyes fixed on the weapon as if there was some sort of intelligence there.

"Harley!" Dick cried, and then stifled a scream as the Infected's claws sank into his chest. The zombie was heavy, he used to be a large man, its entire body weight pressed on his chest. The decaying fat around its belly seemed to move of it's own accord like it may pop out of his skin at any moment. Dick couldn't move, his leg twisted awkwardly as he desperately tried to reach the escrima stick in his boot. The Infected was yanked off of him. Harley stood above the zombie where he'd tumbled to the floor carefully aiming her grappling gun. Her face was set and there was black blood splattered across her front from the first Infected she'd faced. Dick gasped at the relieved weight, coughing. "W-wait-" he stumbled to his feet. "Just run-" he grabbed her hand and yanked her along, out of the doors in search of an exit.

"Stop." Dick kept going. "Stop!" She pulled her arm free from his, and it pulled at the joint. She rubbed her shoulder. "We're the only humans for miles. It doesn't matter if we get away, that Infected is going to find us. Even if he can't get in the room, he's going to try. She stared at him, still breathing hard. Dick looked pale, a hand over the bleeding scratches on his chest.

"We can't just- we have to kill it?" he asked, and then winced, gripping the staircase railing. She watched him for a second.

"Well…" Harley glanced back behind them. "He's- he's so far gone anyway." She could still picture the decaying skin. "He probably won't make it to the top floor." Joker tended to want to keep as many alive as he could too, so she was used to it. But even if there was a cure, she couldn't imagine some of them would want to live in their conditions, or could live. Dick bit his lip, torn two ways.

"Ok. Just… Yeah. You're right," he nodded, pulling his escrima stick out as he walked back to the doors.

"No." Harley ran in front of him and put a hand on his chest. "You don't have to… I can… Or we can just leave him."

"Let's… Let's just leave him," Dick decided, and Harley's hand came away with blood on the fingertips. Dick took her hand, more gently this time, and started back up the stairs, looking for the ground floor exit. "Are you ok?" he asked over his shoulder, squeezing her hand a bit.

"I'm-I'm fine. What happened?" She looked at the blood in her hands. "Where are you hurt?"

"It just scratched my chest. I'll be fine, I just need to clean them-" he pushed out of a ground floor exit door and looked around, trying to find their window.

"Come on." Harley pulled him around the tower. "The longer you stand there looking confused, the more likely it is that you'll get Infected," she muttered. If he wasn't already. Dick nodded, pointing at the window. He aimed his escrima stick and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling them up to the balcony. He lifted Harley over the railing, nearly slipping himself, before she caught him.

"My belt- go get my utility belt." She helped him into the living room and to the couch. Giving him a worried look, she dashed over to the table to grab his belt as he situated himself on the couch.

"What am I looking for?" She popped back over by him.

"The two vials in the pocket to the left of the buckle." Dick sighed, pulling his shirt off. The cuts weren't deep, thank God. Still. That didn't mean they didn't hurt like hell.

"Are they for cleaning the wound?" She dug around for them while she eyed his chest, looking for any sign of Infected blood near the cuts.

"No. Inoculation," he sighed, dropping his head back against the couch.

"What?" She held the two syringes in her hand as she stared at him. "Did you just say…"

"Not a cure or a vaccine-" he took one and pulled the cover off of the needle with his teeth, injecting himself with it. "A phase one experimental decay inhibitor." Dick spit the cover out of his mouth and reached into another pocket for medical supplies. "We're still testing it, but if I was to turn, it'll prevent me from… rotting, for lack of a better word."

"And you don't think maybe this is a topic we shoulda talked about before you were injecting yourself with it?" She looked down at the remaining needle. "How do you know this stuff isn't gonna kill you?"

"I don't. Seems safe, right?" He laughed and then winced at the strain that put on his chest, carefully cleaning out the wounds. Oscar wandered into the living room to investigate all of the noise.

"And this is why I'm the funny one and not you." She glared at him before setting the inhibitor aside and helping him clean the cuts. She knelt on the floor in front of him and tried to be as gentle as she could. The implications of him thinking he needed to take a decay inhabitant made her grit her teeth, but she focused on trying to slow the bleeding.

"Hey," Dick took a deep breath, ignoring the pain. One hand stroked Harley's cheek as he looked down at her. "I'm gonna be ok. Unless of course that facial expression was about losing your plushy robe." She ignored him, carefully watching her hands as they trailed around each wound, trying to keep them clean.

"Do you think they're deep enough for stitches or do ya want me ta just tape 'em up?" She glanced up at him before back down at his chest.

"They'll be fine without stitches. They aren't deep," he sighed, watching her. She nodded and carefully bandaged each cut. He'd probably bleed through and need the bandages changed, but that wasn't her main worry. She tilted her head to the side as she fidgeted a piece of gauze into place before taping it. Dick watched her, smiling a little.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly, a hand rubbing her shoulder gently. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine." She checked over him one last time before setting the supplies aside. "There, I think you're good."

"I should be fine. What's wrong?" he pressed, leaning forward.

"Nothing." She smiled at him before standing up to to throw the bloody, used supplies away. Dick stood and followed her, catching her face in his hands. He kissed her gently and smiled.

"Thank you." He stroked her cheek.

"I have a feeling that with you this is a pretty common occurrence." She rolled her eyes.

"You know, it kind of is. I don't think I'll turn this time though," he smiled, watching her. Oscar walked to her feet and scratched her leg a bit, standing on his hind legs and pawing at her knee. Harley bent down and scooped him up. She absentmindedly scratched his head while she looked at Dick.

"The women you love probably end up bandaging you up a lot," she mused. Oscar stretched out to try and sniff Dick. "And probably need bandaged just as many times."

"I'm not _that_ dangerous," he smirked, his thumb trailing over her cheekbone.

"No you just manage to find yourself in harm's way more than most," she agreed and laughed. Oscar squirmed in her arms, so she set him down so he could sniff around their ankles. Dick chuckled at the dog.

"I won't disagree with that," he smiled. "And you're one to talk."

"I did just say you attract trouble. Why else would I be here?" She cocked her head and giggled. Dick laughed, pulling her closer.

"And _how_ , do tell, do I attract trouble?" He grinned.

"I think it probably has something to do with that stupid smile of yours," she teased, kissing the corner of his mouth. Dick smiled again, and his heart leapt.

"Well you are far less troublesome than you used to be," he laughed.

"Maybe to you," she taunted before slipping out of his arms. "I really wanna wash the zombie off 'a me," she sighed, heading toward the bathroom. Dick watched her go, biting his lip.

"Damn," he called after her, grinning. She came back to the bedroom door.

"You can help," she added before going back toward the bathroom. Dick laughed and followed her, catching her hips and pulling her back against him.

"I was hoping you would ask," he laughed softly, kissing her ear.

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes before turning around to walk in front of him. "Don't forget I _just_ put those bandages on." She draped her arms over his shoulders.

Dick smiled, his lips brushing hers. "And…?" He breathed, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"And nothing," she laughed. "I'm only saying I just put them on; it's not like I'm going to go easy on you." She rolled up on her toes and bit his lip. Dick inhaled sharply in shock, and he smiled against her lips as he kissed her hungrily, pulling her close. Harley giggled and broke free from his arms. She pulled her jacket off and tossed it on the floor, turning the water on in the shower. Dick bit his lip again, smiling until he saw the bruises on her wrists. Dick took her hands, pulling her to him so he could kiss her earnestly.

"I wanted a shower," she muttered, pressing herself closer to him. "And _you_ keep distracting me."

"Then let me be a little more conducive to that end," he grinned. Dick pulled her shirt over her head and then unbuttoned her shorts, his tongue slipping into her mouth as he kissed her slowly. Harley giggled as she backed him toward the shower, her hips pressed against his as she slowly undid his belt buckle. Dick pulled her closer, dropping her shorts and her underwear, kissing her with more intensity. She stepped out of her shorts and pulled his pants down. She kissed around the bandages on his chest before grinning, grabbing onto his shoulders as she jumped up, and wrapping her legs around his waist. Dick moaned and stepped into the shower, shoving her against the wall, one hand supporting her as the other tangled in her hair.

"There," Harley gasped, "mission accomplished." She grabbed his face to pull it up to kiss her, the steam billowing up around them. Dick pulled one of her damp pigtails out, kissing along her jaw and down her neck, the water pouring down his back. Her legs tightened around his waist and she leaned her head back against the wall as she gasped for air. Dick hesitated over another mark left by the Joker, his jaw tightening. He kissed under her chin, his hand sliding down her side. Harley nosed her lips by his ear. "Too bad I won't have a robe to wear when I get out of here," she teased, biting his ear. Her hands trailed up his slick back, neck, and tangled in his hair.

"You want me to go get that for you?" he asked, pulling her hips closer as he pressed her to the wall under the hot water, pulling her other pigtail out.

"The zombie's still down there, so we'd just have to start this whole process over again." Her hips bucked against his as she grinned, her hands tightening in his hair. "And I don't think you want that." Dick moaned, his hand tightening on her waist as he bit her ear.

"Tell me what _you_ want," he breathed, running his fingers through her hair.

"I'm really starting to hate that question," she muttered. She pulled his face up to kiss him hard. Dick kissed her back, a knot in his stomach. He'd never asked that. Which could only mean that the Joker had asked it of her, before causing the marks all over her body. Dick kissed her harder, his arm wrapping around her waist, almost protectively. Harley smiled into the kiss. Her hands still buried in his hair, she rested her elbows on his shoulders and lifted herself up. The water made his body slick against hers, the steam making her breath come out in gasps. She bit his lip just as she pressed her hips down onto his, still grinning. Dick moaned into her mouth, a hand slamming against the wall behind her for support as he leaned his head back, eyes closed for a moment before they met hers, the warmest blue in the broken world. He watched her for a moment, those eyes burning with longing, with love. Dick leaned in and kissed her deliberately.

Harley closed her eyes and held herself as close to him as she could. " _I want you to want me_." That's what she'd told Joker. She didn't have to say it with Dick, she could see it in his eyes. Kissing down along his neck, she could see the bruises on her wrists. She stared at them for a moment before she brushed her lips along by his ear.

"What I want is for you to have what you want," she murmured. Dick kissed her cheek, and he began moving down her, his lips planting light kisses down her neck, over her shoulder, down her collarbone. He left gentle bites and kisses down her chest, holding her tenderly, one hand on her leg around his waist. Harley gasped and couldn't help giggling. She pulled him closer, her back pressed against the shower wall. She wiped away a trail of water about to run into his eyes before brushing the damp strands of hair out of his face. Dick kissed her ear.

"Don't laugh at me," he whispered, chuckling softly as he bit her earlobe.

"I can't help it." She grinned. "Besides, I thought you wanted to be the funny one." Her wet hair was a tangle around her face as she stuck her tongue out at him, laughing. Dick caught her tongue in his mouth, kissing her hard, pressing her against the wall.

"We both know you're the funny one," he grinned, biting her lip.

"Yeah but now I gotcha ta admit it," she teased. Her hands pulled at his hair as she kissed him, her legs tightening around his waist. Dick pressed her against the wall with his hips, his hands tightening on her slick legs as he held her up, his breathing spiking as he drowned in her kiss.

"And here I thought I came in here ta get clean, not dirty," she laughed breathlessly. She leaned her head back against the wall for a second before she grinned at him. "Maybe I need ta get some body wash and rub ya down," she murmured, trailing her lips along his throat. "You'd be amazed what I can do with a loofah."

Dick moaned again, grinding his hips against her. He smirked a bit and glared at her before biting her ear. "You talk a lot of smack," he muttered, his breath hot against her neck as he tried to control his gasping, his heart pounding in his chest against hers. He wanted her so damn bad. He _needed_ her. And he found himself hating himself for it. For his desperation.

"Well you aren't. Come on big boy," she taunted, but her voice was raspy, her eyes clouded with longing, her fingers tangled in his hair. She was desperate for him to make a move, her body tense and heart racing. Dick smiled a little, nosing his way to her ear.

"Why talk at all?" he asked softly, working his hips against her. His fingers dug into her leg and she could feel him hot against her, could feel how ready he was, but he still didn't take her. The water hissed against his bare back, his lips trailing down her neck.

"Dick," she moaned, her head dropping onto his shoulder, her breath gasping against his neck, her legs clenching around him, and desperately pushing her hips down against his. He caught her lips in a kiss, shaking his head. She made him dizzy, the hot water and suffocating heat of the steam only serving to make him more aroused. His hand on her hip tried to steady her advances, to little avail, and his lips fell from hers to move down her neck again as his fingers slipped between her legs. She cried out in surprise, her hands clutching at him. Her nails bit into his back as she tried to steady herself, trembling slightly.

"Is there some point you're trying to prove?" she asked weakly. Dick grinned against her neck, stroking her slowly. He pulled his lips from her so that he could breathe away from the water pouring over her skin.

"Only that what _I_ want is _you_. I want you to know I want you; I want you to taste it." Dick kissed her slowly, pulling her to him with the fingers between her legs. "I want you to _feel_ it," he whispered against her lips, watching her with those sultry blue eyes. Harley moaned softly into his mouth, and her eyes closed. Her limbs went weak and she was barely able to hold onto him, but her legs tightened to thrust her hips against him.

"Oh fuck me," she swore, licking her lips. Dick grinned against her neck, sighing slowly. He could hardly stand waiting anymore, trembling with anticipation, but he stood firm. He leaned back a bit to watch the water run in her scarlet and black hair, drawing veins down her pale chest, gasping for air. His lips returned to her neck.

"Careful, I may have to wash your mouth out with that language," he murmured against her skin, letting her take his fingers in as he quickened his pace. She groaned, biting her lip.

"And are we thinking of the same mouthwash here?" she taunted, opening her eyes as she grinned at him, still breathing heavy. Her back was arched, her hips still pushing down on his hand asking for more. She closed her eyes again and sucked her lip under her teeth. She desperately wanted more. Dick laughed, kissing down her chest.

"I don't know," he breathed, dipping into her with his fingers, kissing below her chest. He suddenly dropped to his knees, but he held her where she was against the wall, moving her legs over his shoulders as he supported her weight. "Are we?" Dick kissed below her belly button with a smile. Harley took in deep breaths of air, trying to steady her breathing in the short reprieve, but his hand still between her legs teased her until she was gasping for breath again.

"I'm gonna get you back for this," she warned as he grinned. She grit her teeth, but he wasn't looking at her as he slid his hands along her hips, his hands and breath raising goosebumps on her skin. She didn't think he realized she still had _all day_ to torture him as much as he was her. Dick buried his face between her legs, her hands grasping at his hair, her head falling back against the shower wall, his name a sigh on her lips. She suddenly grinned.

They still had _all day_ together.


	38. The One With Jane

Harley woke to light kisses up her back, soft lips moving up her spine, kissing every mark they'd left the night before, and every mark their rival had made. The room was dark, a halo of light on the horizon, coming like the imminent end of their time together. Dick's hand trailed down the curves of her waist, lingering on the bruises that the Joker had left on her hips. Dick sighed softly against her skin. She lay on her stomach with him beside her, and she could feel the heat of his naked body against hers under the scarlet sheets.

"Mmm," she sighed, "good morning to you too." She blinked slowly, turning and smiling up at him. Dick wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her slowly. He savored the sleepy morning taste, and then smiled at her.

"Hi," he breathed, a thumb stroking her hip.

"Hi," she yawned and stretched. She winced. Her body was sore and tender, and she was still exhausted. "How'd ya sleep?" She smiled and scooted closer to him. Dick wrapped his arm tighter around her waist, burying his face in her hair.

"Sleep? What's that?" he mused, laughing softly.

"It's the other thing you're supposed ta do in a bed," she teased, kissing his shoulder. Dick thought for a moment.

"No, I don't want to do that," he decided, laughing as he kissed her head with a smile. Harley giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's what gives ya energy for the other thing," she whispered. Her hand lazily traced patterns around the bandages on his chest. Dick sighed slowly, closing his eyes.

"Why can't we just stay like this forever?" Dick asked, his chest rising and falling gently with his breathing.

"Cuz _someone_ got it into their head ta try and save the world," Harley answered, laughing.

"Ugh. Damn him," Dick shook his head, his Nightwing mask watching over them from the bedside table.

"Well it is a turn on," she admitted with a smile and kissed his cheek.

"That's news to me," he grinned. It was so warm and dark in the room, the chilly wind blocked out by the windows. Oscar put his paws up on the bed, looking at the two of them over the blankets. Harley giggled. She stretched over and scratched his head.

"How are you?" She smiled at the dog. He stepped down and took a running jump up onto the bed, crawling up by Harley's side and curling into a ball. Dick laughed.

"Too bad you can't keep him," he smiled, stroking Harley's hair slowly.

"I know. I'm gonna miss him." She pulled him into her arms and covered him in kisses as he squirmed. Dick laughed and watched her, before glancing out the windows. He sighed slowly.

"We can't keep meeting on my patrol days," he smiled a little.

"Oh." Her face fell. She let Oscar go and he scrambled over to Dick. "Okay."

"No, of course I'll still come to see you," his arm around her shoulder pulled her closer, and he kissed her head. "We just need to start doing it on my break days. The day before I usually come. Good news is, there's only two days instead of three between now and the time that I get to see you again," he smiled, kissing her happily. The sky was growing lighter outside.

"Well now you're just gettin' greedy," Harley teased before giving him another kiss. Oscar squirmed under the blankets, and she giggled and nudged the dog out of the way. Dick smiled against her lips, pulling her closer. How she ever thought he only wanted her for sex was beyond him; in this moment, with the sun rising behind them and the blankets warm around their bodies, he wanted nothing more than to stay like that. He could lay with her forever, laughing and talking softly. He loved simply being in her presence. Of course, he couldn't _say_ all that. Couldn't even tell her he loved her. Dick suddenly kissed Harley passionately, cupping her face with one hand and holding her close. She sighed into the kiss, her hand grabbing onto his arm.

"Ya know, you're more effective than any alarm clock I've ever owned." She bit his bottom lip as she giggled. Dick laughed and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers.

"And I think you're a better incentive to get up for than a day job," he laughed again and kissed her nose.

"Stop it," she pretended to shove his arm, "you're makin' me blush." Dick chuckled, his lips brushing hers.

"I… I love you," he said carefully, his eyes glancing between hers. Harley looked down at her hands.

"I know," she sighed, closing her eyes and rolling onto her back. Dick watched her, his head propped up on his hand.

"I don't expect you to reciprocate it, you know," he said quietly. "I only want you to know that I care about you. And if you ever need anything, you can come to me," he traced a bruise on her wrist with his thumb and then kissed her hand.

"But you're not supposed to care about me," she mumbled.

"You keep saying that and I still can't figure out what it means," he put a hand on her cheek and turned her face to look at him. "Why am I not supposed to care about you? Who told you that?"

"No!" Harley sat up. "You weren't supposed ta get feelings for me. We're on opposite sides. I was just supposed to get information from ya for Pete's sake, not… You weren't supposed to be crazy enough to fall in love with me. We're not…" She rubbed her eyes in frustration. "You weren't supposed ta get feelings for me because… because if you care about me I can hurt you."

"I know that," Dick smiled a little. "Don't you think I'm allowed to take that risk if I want to? And don't you think _you_ take that risk as well?" he breathed, shaking his head. "Believe me, I didn't think I was crazy enough to fall for you, either."

"Then it's all your fault." Harley dropped her hands, giving him a small smile. "You're obviously the crazy one here."

"I'll take the blame," he chuckled, taking her hand before looking out the windows. Dick sighed. "I've got to go soon, hot stuff," he smiled at Harley again before running his free hand through his hair.

"Gotta go save the world, Wonder Boy?" she teased. She layed back down beside him, curling up next to him.

"Gotta go save the world," he agreed, smiling a little.

"Well then I'll try not to mess it up too much in the meantime." She tucked her head under his chin. Dick smiled again, pressing his lips to her head. He never wanted this to end. Holding her for a moment longer, Dick sighed and stood up, tucking her into the blankets. Oscar squirmed into her arms and settled under the blankets again, and Dick smiled before heading to the bathroom for his clothes.

"Pie!" Harley called after him. "I also really miss pie! But I guess that's probably just because 'a the whole wanting cake thing."

"You think?" he shouted back, pulling his pants on before looking around for his shirt. He walked out into the bedroom with a smile, pulling his boots on. Harley was wearing his mask and giggled when she saw him.

"Whadoya think? Does it hide my identity?"

"Um…" Dick laughed, eying her still half hidden torso buried in the blankets. "You look like a real hero. Where's the rest of the costume?" he smiled, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Like I could afford that," she laughed. She touched around the mask. "Wow this is fancy schmansy."

"Infrared, night vision, and a camera that feeds to the Batcave," Dick smiled, reaching for the side of the mask where the buttons were, changing the settings.

"Well you people don't skimp over there at Wayne Tower do you?" She switched the mask back to normal and grabbed his hand, pulling him down and kissing him. Dick smiled into her kiss, holding her close as the sunlight hit them over the Gotham horizon. "Ya know this mask might be fun the next time we play after dark," Harley whispered against his lips. Dick smiled and laughed a little, his eyes still closed happily.

"Two days, gorgeous. See you in two days," he kissed her again, pressing his comm into his ear. Harley pulled the mask off and held it up to him.

"You gonna come and get it?" she taunted. Dick laughed and chased after her, making a grab for the mask.

"Come on, Harls, I've got to go-"

"Nope." She hid the mask behind her back. "You gotta earn it."

"And how do I do that?" he laughed, grinning.

"Well then you wouldn't have earned it." She beamed up at him. Dick narrowed his eyes, suddenly lunging at her, but instead of make a grab for the mask, he caught her face in his hands and kissed her enthusiastically. The intensity made her heart skip a beat.

"Drop it," he commanded, his breath a whisper against her lips as he still held her face, grinning. Harley tossed the mask into the bed.

"You gonna tell me ta sit? Stay? Rub my belly?" she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. Dick laughed and kissed her slowly, his comm crackling in his ear.

"Playtime's over, I wanna go home," Selina whined. Dick savored the kiss for a moment longer before pressing his comm.

"Coming," he sighed, picking up his mask.

"See ya later hero." Harley kissed his nose. "Try not ta shoot anyone I like while you're savin' the city."

"And try not to cause too much trouble while I'm away," Dick chuckled, buckling his utility belt on. He smiled at her. "See you later then."

"Bye." She gave him another quick kiss before giggling. "With you gone, I can actually wash my hair," she teased, and scampered off the bed. "Don't forget Oscar," she reminded as she headed to the bathroom, waving goodbye. Dick watched her go and then scooped up the dog, jumping over the balcony railing. The dog yipped loudly in terror as they fell, and Dick fired his grappling hook to support the fall. He hit the ground running, jogging towards Midtown.

"Good morning everyone. How is the hell on earth we live in today?" he asked into the comm.

"Wow, you're always chipper once you get some," Jason told him. "Not all of us got to skip our patrols."

"And you're always bitter when you don't get any," Dick muttered irritably. "Transferring to supply run- Damian, will you take Oscar for me?" he asked, stroking the dog's head.

"Sure. Heading to break," Damian replied. "Batman?"

"Yes?"

"May I go speak with my recruit?" Damian asked calmly, waiting for the inevitable barrage of questions from his siblings.

"A new recruit?" Jason demanded.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Steph asked. "How do you even find a new recruit?"

"She's a potential asset," Damian replied sharply.

"' _She_!?'" Dick cried, beaming.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Steph burst into laughter.

"Dude, way to go," Jason couldn't help breaking down into laughter too.

"Nothing more than a potential asset!" Damian defended, trying his hardest not to snap.

"Bruce," Jason said seriously, "have you met this girl? Is she good enough for our little Robin?"

"Damian, go ahead. I want a full assessment before you bring her to the tower. I want you to be absolutely certain," Bruce ignored Jason. "And Red Hood. Aliases over comms."

"As of this shift change conversation I am officially on break, so go ahead and yell at me but at least I wait until after my patrol to ignore the rules. Isn't that right, Richard?

"Bite me, shellhead," Dick muttered.

"I don't think you understand how my mask works."

"Red Hood, if you're on break, shouldn't you get off the comms?" Kate asked.

"And I'll have you know that I'm only seeing Harley on my breaks now, so _there_ ," Dick interrupted to add, handing the dog off to Damian, who took it with him into the tower.

"Yes, I'm sure that will help father sleep at night," Damian muttered.

"Well then at least someone will," Jason interrupted, "because I doubt Dick will be sleeping if he's seeing Harley on his break days."

"Hey, we sleep!" Dick defended.

"Why," Steph commented.

"Why would we sleep?" Dick suddenly grinned. "Because we're _exhausted._ "

"Ugh," Damian joined the various noises of resentment. "Listen to yourself. You sound like Father. 'We.' You say ' _we_.' Like you're a married couple."

"I do not say that," Dick said hesitantly, trying to think about his wording.

"You say 'we,'" Steph agreed.

"Now does this 'we' include the Joker?" Jason asked. Damian's steps hesitated as he walked up the stairs and the Steph sucked in a breath.

"Damn you, Jason," Dick snapped, trying not to sound hurt.

" _Aliases,_ " Bruce insisted in exasperation.

"It's the part all of us are worried about," he shrugged, "and the part you want to ignore."

"I'm figuring it out, okay?" he defended again, hiding the uncertainty in his voice. Damian smirked.

"I'm sure that will work," he laughed shortly, unlocking his door as he reached his room. He sighed and dropped onto the bed with Titus jumping up beside him.

"Not that this conversation doesn't make me feel _super_ comfortable," Jason deadpanned, "I am on break. So I don't have to talk to you losers anymore. Have fun on your patrols. And/or worrying about your crazy girlfriends."

"Have fun with _your_ crazy girlfriend," Damian retorted, hastily changing his clothes and putting his mask back on.

"Hey at least I have a girlfriend," Jason defended. "And I'm actually pretty proud of the fact that Papa Bat doesn't approve."

"Red Hood," Bruce warned.

"Okay, okay. I'm off comms."

"Good," Damian muttered, whistling for Titus to follow him as he walked out of his room. When he reached the basement garage levels he whistled shortly at Titus, and the dog leapt into the sidecar of the motorcycle. Damian smiled to himself and sped off.

Moments later he arrived at Jane's ramshackle home in Downtown Gotham, parking his bike. He glanced down at Titus with a smile.

"Stay," he commanded, and then ruffled his hands over the dog's ears. "Who's my good boy," he grinned, kissing his head, allowing himself this momentary happiness before he stood and walked to Jane's front door, knocking briskly. It took a long time, but he heard the lock turn and the door cracked open. After a second, she opened it fully and found Robin by the door in his mask and a black hoodie over a worn gray t-shirt and jeans. He smiled a little, the action pulling at the scar over the right of his lips.

"Oh," she was clearly surprised, "you came back."

"Of course I did. I made you an offer I should follow up on," he said calmly, smiling again.

"Ooo what'd you offer her?" Steph asked over comms.

"He sounds like he's smiling," Cass added.

"Um, right." Jane looked past Damian to the street before refocusing on him. "Come in."

"He's in!" Steph cheered. "Score."

Damian ignored the comm in his ear, pulling his headphones off around his neck and stepping through the door.

"Have you thought more about said offer?" Damian asked, his eyes adjusting to the dark interior as he turned to look at her. She looked like she'd only just woken up after a nearly sleepless night.

"I still kinda didn't think you were completely serious," she admitted and ran a hand through her messy hair. The house looked clean but unlived in. It was a house big enough for a family, and she was alone.

"I… Thought I made myself quite clear," he chuckled a little.

"Who even talks like that," Dick muttered over comms.

"He sounds so awkward," Steph whispered.

"Yeah I guess I just… couldn't figure out why you'd want to ask me in the first place," Jane finally answered.

"Medical expertise," Damian responded. "You have an impressive medical repertoire for someone so young, and I believe you would be a good addition to our… Team," he said the word slowly, not sure if it was the right one.

"Yeah that's the reason," Steph snorted.

"Oh well…" Jane trailed off in confusion. "How do you even know about my medical experience?"

"You intrigued me when I met you, with your mother," he confessed, looking down. "I did some digging after that. Our computers aren't what they used to be, but I found enough. You are very talented."

"Look at our little stalker," Steph laughed.

"Thank you… I guess."

Damian scrutinized Jane. He couldn't get a read on her, curls falling into her impassive brown eyes. He couldn't tell if she was going to take the chance he was giving her, turn it down, or if she'd considered it at all. He suddenly realized he'd been staring, and averted his eyes for a moment.

"I don't want to be forward, but have you considered it? Do you have any questions for me?" he asked.

"This is embarrassing," Dick muttered, laughing a little.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Jane asked. She crossed her arms, looking down.

"I…" Damian reached to his comm, keeping his frustration internalized.

"This will be good," Selina whispered over comms, and a flush crept over Damian's cheeks.

"I wanted to extend an offer for a second chance in Gotham," he confessed. "It's a… trend with the family I belong to. We take in the people we… see fit," he breathed. Her unwavering, sharp gaze took the words out of the air, out of his mouth and he couldn't find them again. It reminded him of his father.

"But why me? Why…" Jane trailed off when there was a knock at the door. Her face went pale as she turned toward the door. Damian didn't move.

"Do you need to get that?" he asked calmly. Jane hesitated.

"Open up!" someone called from outside. Jane sighed and headed to the door. She cracked it open.

"Can I help you?" she asked dryly. Four men stood on the front stoop. Their clothes were dirty and worn from use and their hands calloused; they were clearly workers. One stood a little ahead of the others, and he glared her down.

"What are you still doing here?" he demanded.

"Well I live here," Jane replied in a bored voice, "but I'm sure you have a lovely house of your own you can shove off to." She tried to shut the door, but he reached out and caught it.

"Very funny little girl. It's bad enough all you freeloaders come to our city with your various diseases, but then you and your family bring Infected into our sewers." He pushed the door open. Jane tried to keep her face impassive, but her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed and she couldn't help taking a step back. "We told you we didn't want you here."

"Hey," Damian barked, coming calmly around the corner. His nose turned up, he crossed his arms over his chest. "You will step back now," he said evenly, watching them. The men looked him up and down before they registered the mask.

"I'm fine," Jane hissed at Damian. Her face was flushed; she was embarrassed he was here for this.

"What are you doing here?" the first man demanded.

"Making sure new citizens of Gotham are comfortable," he held his composure. "And your intention, sir?"

"Her father is the reason the city is in the mess it's in," the man accused.

"There is no one to blame," Damian said calmly. "The Infected in the sewer system are being controlled. It is time for you to leave now."

"Oh snap," Steph whispered, "I'd be running if I was them."

"But… That's… She's…" the man stuttered. "The rest of her family died too. How do we know she doesn't have some disease she's spreading?"

"She was cleared to enter the city. Do you think Batman would make a mistake like that?" Damian asked, more power to his voice now as he tried to control his irritation. He whistled shrilly and Titus leapt out of the sidecar on the street, growling, just to emphasize his point. He hated to admit it, but Dick and Jason were right. Name dropping was incredibly effective.

"See," Dick said over comms. "Told you it works. Say 'Batman' and people get too scared to question you, just watch."

"It's even a good tool when handling you boys," Selina added sternly. There was a collective groan over the line. The men looked at each other and backed hesitantly out the door. Jane slammed it on the last one before turning on Damian.

"I can handle my own problems," she snapped.

"Oh my God she's perfect for him," Steph squealed.

"Which is why I want to recruit you," he fired right back and then tried to reconstruct his cool composure.

"For what?" Jane asked, crossing her arms. "You keep saying you want to recruit me, whatever the hell that means, but what for? What would I even be doing?"

Damian resisted the urge to rub his temples in frustration. This was like talking to his brothers. He liked this girl. She had potential. He couldn't let her seeming obliviousness to the obvious get to him the way it did with the majority of people. "I'm offering you a chance to make a real difference. We'll train you to defend yourself, to fight, build on your medical experience. You'll help us maintain this city, doing specialized jobs, whether that is gathering food outside the boundaries, keeping the citizens safe, or working on a cure to the Infection." Damian hesitated. "With your medical expertise, you'd more than likely work there. You could work to know how cure your brother."

"Manipulative little bastard," Selina muttered.

"Okay, so that's what I'd be doing. Fine. But it still doesn't make any sense." She looked like she was trying just as hard as him not to be annoyed. "You come in here saying you're recruiting me because of my experience, which I say is spotty at best, like this isn't the biggest chance in the lifetime that could ever be offered to someone. Then you tell me I'd be training in things I have absolutely no experience in, but might end up doing what you used as the reason for initially offering me this opportunity. Can you see my confusion here? I'm a no one who just got to Gotham and has no family left, and has a questionable family history in fact. There are hundreds of other people in this town with probably just as much to offer as me, but you're here… and standing there like I'm ridiculous because I'm not immediately swept away by your offer. You're asking me to make the biggest decision of my life based off of a hunch you have and pretending it's no more important than picking out what I want for breakfast."

Damian stared at her, taking a deep breath. "Um, Jane. I understand your confusion." He paused to sit down on the couch, hoping she would join him. "The truth is, my… Family. We take in people like you. People who have nothing left. People we… See something in." He watched her, gauging her reaction.

"You know you could just say you feel bad for me," she told him, "instead of beating around the bush."

"I like her," Steph added again.

"I feel bad for you. And I like you," Damian stared at her evenly. "You have something they don't."

"Is it pretty eyes?" Steph asked. "Or is it something else? Her winning personality? I've got a feeling it's more shallow than that, huh Robin?" she teased.

"Motivation. And determination. This situation we're all in seems to suck the life out of everyone. You're different."

Jane sat down on the couch and tucked her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs. "That brother comment was a low blow by the way."

"It's true," he said quietly. "My brother is Infected, too. I believe I told you." He looked at the carpet, sighing quietly. "I do my job every day thinking of him. We used to fight. A lot. Now, if I could tell him…" Damian blinked slowly and looked at her. "It's a motivation. Something to think about and persevere. I've never been a 'greater good' person until now. And I see that in you." The comms were silent.

"You're such a suck up," she told him with a small smile. She glanced back at the empty house. "If I agree to this," she stared at him, "I have one condition."

"Name it," he said quietly.

"No more using the term recruit. I will punch the next person who says it in the face," she warned.

"Fine. Jane," he smiled a little, considering saying it one more time. "Do you have things you would like to pack?" She thought about all stuff her family had brought with them to Gotham, all the stuff they'd carried with them to their final destination. The only possessions they'd had in the world and the only things she had left of them.

"Nope. Nothing." They'd all made it together, but she was alone now. She didn't want to be crushed by the memories. Damian watched her.

"Then are you ready to come to the tower? I can give you a tour," he smiled a little again. He never smiled broadly, and she got the impression that it may hurt, with the scar running from the corner of his mouth to his nose, and down his chin. The scarred tissue pulled a bit when he moved his mouth.

"Is that your job? Enlistment and tour guide?" She stood up and stretched.

"No, I do a variety of jobs. Mainly covering for my respective family members when they want to spend time slacking off," he led the way to the door. The sun was fully up now, and when he opened it, a wave of heat hit them.

"Hey," Dick muttered.

"It's Nightwing and Red Hood that cause problems, and occasionally my father," Damian smirked.

"Ha!" Dick cried.

"Robin." They both turned to see Batman waiting for them.

"Are you here to yell at him for the covering your ass statement?" Jane asked. Damian looked spooked, but he quickly recovered.

"Father," he acknowledged, turning his nose up a bit.

"How often are people turned against you like that?" Bruce asked of Jane, and she blinked in surprise.

"Well a lot more often since my father became a modern day Charles Manson."

"But there was hostility before?" he pressed.

"No more than the usual hatred of the refugees," she shrugged. Batman grit his teeth. He'd been afraid of that. "I must say, I'm a little disappointed that Batman didn't know about it." Damian watched him carefully.

"I'm taking her with me back to the tower," Damian said slowly. Bruce nodded.

"She is your recruit," he agreed. Jane swung back and landed a right hook squarely on his jaw. Damian stared on in shocked silence.

"What just happened?" Steph demanded. Bruce glared down at Jane.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I really am. But I thought I made my one request very clear, and I know you've all be listening to his comm," she gestured to Damian, "because his eyes kinda unfocus whenever he's listening to someone talk on it. Not to mention, you wouldn't be here if you hadn't overheard the fiaco at the door, so..." Jane trailed off, trying to look like she didn't massively regret what she'd just done.

"Did she just punch Batman?!" Steph cried.

"Sorry," Jane added again quickly. Bruce stared at her a moment longer and ran a hand across his jaw.

"It's good to know you'll follow through on your word." He turned toward Damian. "Once you're back at the tower, turn your comm off to keep the lines clear while you're on break. And make sure you get everything settled before your Arkham shift."

"Yes sir," Damian nodded, turning quickly and guiding Jane toward his motorbike.

"Marry that girl, Damian," Dick said seriously.

"Shut _up_ Nightwing," he muttered, and then stopped by the bike, muting his comm. "That was… Bold," he commented, getting on. Titus stared at her from the sidecar, wagging his tail.

"Well I could say that it was rude for you to have other people listening in on our conversation without telling me," she counted. "How many of you are there anyway?"

"Seven, in full active duty. Nine if you count Batgirl, who remains in the laboratories working on a cure, and Poison Ivy, who occasionally assists in food production. Get on," he gestured to the back of the bike, turning it on. "Though there were only about five listening in." Titus barked happily and Robin shushed him. Jane patted the dog's head before getting on the bike. She wrapped her arms around Robin's waist.

"Aren't you supposed to have helmets for this? Safety first and all that."

"I… to be honest, I have never thought about it," he confessed, starting down the street. He didn't drive very fast, anyway, at the risk of hurting Titus loose in the sidecar. They barely broke thirty all the way to Wayne Tower. Her arms around his waist was a strange sensation, and he couldn't figure out why it made him feel sort of ill.

"I was teasing you," she told him. She put her lips close to his ear as she talked so he could hear her over the wind and the bike. "You guys really don't seem like the safety first kind of people."

"I believe you'll be surprised at the amount of rules and regulations we have to keep each other safe," he commented, turning his head a bit. Her lips touched his cheek for a moment, and he flushed a bit pink under his mask. _You're not Grayson. Get ahold of yourself, Damian Wayne._ Even if her punching his overbearingly nosy father in the face, damn near rescuing _him_ as if it wasn't the other way around, was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen, it didn't mean he would develop feelings for her.

"Yeah but rules and regulations aside, you all jump off buildings and attack people in the dark." She leaned back as she laughed. "I've definitely heard of safer things."

"True," Damian pulled the bike into the garage below the building and Titus jumped out, running around the sidecar to wait for Damian and Jane to get off. "Welcome to the club."

"Oh so now it's a club?" She got off the bike and watched Titus. She ran her fingers through her hair to try and tame it after the wind. "Is there a secret handshake I need to learn? A secret knock? Code word?"

"Nope. Just said rules. And the lay of the land." Damian smiled. "Come on. Vehicles stay down here. Elevator's this way." He started walking, his massive Great Dane leaping around him and wagging his tail. "My apologies, Jane- this is Titus," he rubbed the dog's head, and his tongue lolled out happily. "Say hello," he commanded and then whistled a short burst. Titus barked at her, his tail smacking Damian's leg. Jane beamed at the dog.

"Hi." She scratched behind Titus's ear. "Is he one of the six on active duty?" she teased. "Wait. His full name isn't Titus Andronicus is it?"

"It… is, yes. You've read it?" Damian asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice, glad that his mask hid the admiration in his eyes.

"My mom had a thing for Shakespearean tragedies," she shrugged. "I got King Lear instead of Cat in the Hat as a bedtime story."

"Our mothers would have gotten along," he muttered, opening the elevator doors and stepping on. Titus walked next to Jane as she followed, and Damian looked down at the dog sitting beside her feet. "Traitor," he smiled a little, his scar pulling a bit. Titus wagged his tail against the floor and Damian glanced at her. "So tell me a bit more about yourself."

"Why me?" She lazily pet Titus's head. "I mean you've clearly done your research on me, so shouldn't it be my turn to gather information?"

"I told you why I chose you," he glanced at her, pressing a button to the labs. "Fire away."

"Well first, why the dog?" She smiled down at Titus. "And how long have you had him?"

"I've had him for five years now," Damian looked down at him and genuinely smiled this time. "My father bought him for me when I was… Having trouble settling in, coming to him after growing up with my mother." The elevator buttons clicked down as they descended.

"That's the second time you mentioned your mother in a negative way. Care to elaborate?" Jane leaned against the elevator wall.

"My full name is Al Ghul," he shifted a bit uncomfortably. He wasn't normally okay with sharing this much personal information, but he wanted her to like him. The name didn't come as a surprise; his dark skin had hinted at a different ethnic background. "My mother was Talia Al Ghul, and I was the heir to the League of Assassins. I was trained as such from birth. I was raised to be a weapon. The woman had about as much maternal instinct as a black widow spider," he said matter of factly. The elevator doors opened onto the hall to the labs.

"So your mother was an assassin and Batman's your father. Suddenly my family doesn't seem that crazy anymore."

"Wait till you meet the rest of them," Damian raised one dark eyebrow behind his mask. They started down the hall and he stopped in front of the door, showing her the passcode to unlock it. "Ok. This is our almost state-of-the-art laboratory area. Gotham's brightest minds work here, developing a cure; collaborating with Star Labs in Central City to try to stay up to date. They have come up with a decay inhibitor, stopping the degenerative effects of the Infection."

A few men and women in lab coats worked around the glass tables and scientific equipment, the room quiet except for their voices and the hum of machines. Jane glanced around at everything, constantly moving her head to see everything.

"I think… this is a little out of my league." She looked at Damian. "I was taught practical medicine. Everything in here looks like it requires at least two doctorates in a scientific field. Why am I here again?"

"You'll be fine," he assured her quietly. "Batgirl and Dr. Thompkins will find a place for you." He walked to the back of the labs, where Batgirl sat at her desk, a graying brunette woman standing beside it. Batgirl looked up as he approached.

"Robin!" she grinned. "And you must be Jane. News of your heroics has already swept through the family like wildfire," she laughed, extending a hand, red hair tumbling over her shoulders from her pointy eared cowl. "We've all wanted to deck Bats. Only a couple have lived to tell the tale," she grinned.

"Thanks I guess. I thought he could handle it." She rocked back on her heels as she studied them all. She was shortest by a good couple inches if her wild mane of hair wasn't counted. "I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you're Batgirl. So you must be Dr. Thompkins." She inclined her head toward her. "I've heard of your work."

"I can't imagine how, but thank you," she smiled, still quite beautiful despite her aged features and tired eyes. Dark graying hair was pulled back away from her face. "From what Robin has mentioned you seem quite experienced. Welcome to the cause." Robin looked down and cleared his throat a bit, Titus sitting at attention by his side.

"My mother was a small town family practitioner and insisted on keeping up on new medical studies from Metropolis, Central City, Gotham, and so on. Your name was just one of several on new practices and articles." She shrugged and looked around.

"Well. Its great to meet you, Jane," Batgirl smiled again, and then waved as Damian led her out to continue their tour.

He showed her the dining areas, where they kept the food, how they distributed the scavenged resources, the makeshift training area and locker rooms on one floor, and anything else he thought she might need to know. They stepped onto the elevator again.

"So, anymore questions?" he asked. She'd been quiet for most of the tour, and he still couldn't get a read on her.

"Two." She focused on Titus again, scratching under his collar. "What's the schedule around here? And where am I sleeping?"

"The schedule is complicated. Generally we have two people patrolling the city along with the GCPD, handling domestic affairs, two in Uptown, watching the criminals and Infected in Arkham City, and two heading small parties that leave the city to find food and supplies. Then who remains is on break, to do what they want. Most of the time that's sleep. The schedule gets complicated when people switch for shifts; maybe someone wants to spend time with their girlfriend so they'll trade shifts. It gets a bit scrambled when things like that happen." Damian talked stiffly, like he wasn't used to speaking so casually. In truth his speech had changed more to match his brothers' vernaculars in the past couple of years, but it still felt awkward, and Jane could sense it in his speech. "I will show you the medical floor, and then your room. We all sleep on the top floors," he pointed at buttons on the elevator as he spoke. "Batman and Catwoman live in the penthouse at the top of the building. The rest of us live in rooms adapted from the executive offices in the floors below."

"Then I bet there was no shortage of desks." Jane nudged Titus who bumped her back, and Jane giggled as she stumbled. Damian smiled a little, watching them.

"I don't understand," he said slowly, just realizing what she said. "What do you mean? Of course there were a lot of desks…" Jane grinned at him.

"You're absolutely right." She glanced back at the numbers ticking up on the elevator. "Why does any building need this many floors?"

"It used to be an executive building housing a multi billion dollar international company…" he trailed off. "You were being sarcastic again, weren't you," he muttered, chuckling as he looked down at his shoes.

"A little," she admitted with a smile. "But remember I did grow up in a small town. There was nothing over two stories above ground."

"I suppose that makes sense," he shrugged, and they stepped out onto the medical floors. He'd abandoned his jacket somewhere along the tour, in a loose fit gray t-shirt that hung off of his muscular frame. He looked like he never left the gym.

"Now what?" Jane looked around before back at him. "Time to get to work? Or…?"

"No, I'm on break. You'll be shadowing me for a while, accompanying me on my shifts. So you can spend some time with me, if you'd like, or I can take you to your room until I retrieve you for patrol tomorrow."

"Well I've been on break for about a month. So show me what you got?" She scratched Titus's head and his tongue lolled out. Damian scowled at the dog, suppressing a smile.

"I spend the majority of my time in the rec rooms," he shrugged, pressing the button as they got back on the elevator, and it descended again.

"Shocker," Jane grinned. She leaned against the elevator wall again. "Yet you don't take the stairs."

"Stairways are for emergency procedures only," he smirked. "And I wanted you to be able to keep up."

"Ouch," Jane laughed. "You wound me. I'm wounded."

"Then prove me wrong." The elevator doors opened onto what must have been a floor full of cubicles, now folded and shoved aside. Workout equipment was placed around the room in no organization at all. Titus ran out into the vast space, and Robin smiled. "You're going to have to learn to fight. Do you have any experience?"

"Well there was that one time I punched Batman in the face, but other than that not really." She shrugged. "Just your basic not dying on the way to Gotham stuff."

"Good. Then let's start with the basics."

* * *

Harley pushed the door of the elevator open and yawned. She shuffled into the living room and tossed her jacket onto the couch. She considered just dropping onto it and taking a nap there but kicked her shoes off with a groan and headed to the bedroom. Everywhere was sore from the day spent with Dick and the time she'd spend with Joker before that; not that she regretted any of it. She smiled to herself as she pushed the bedroom door open and fell gratefully onto the bed.

"Harley! Come in here please!" Came Joker's voice from the office. She sighed and pushed herself back up.

"Coming!" She rubbed her hands across her eyes as she trekked back into the living room. Her muscles had that weak loose feeling like she'd spent the day at the gym, and she rubbed her hand along her leg, her bruises were throbbing. She knocked on the office door. "Puddin?" Maybe whatever he needed wouldn't take that long and she could take her nap; she hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep before Dick woke her up. She headed in, closing the door behind her.

"What did you find out," he asked, not looking up from his desk.

"Well the Bats found Penguin in the sewers." She leaned lazily against the wall. Joker burst into laughter, slamming a hand on the table.

"So _that's_ what happened to that poor bastard!" he cried, laughing.

"Yeah but they shot him," Harley muttered.

"Ugh. Of _course_ they did. And? Is that all?" he pressed.

"I think they're having a problem with more zombies in the sewers. They're worried about it," she yawned.

"Is that really it," he glared at her, rising out of his chair a bit.

"Um…" Harley tried to think. They'd been attacked by the two Infected and before that Selina had visited. If he didn't know she was still alive, Harley didn't want him trying to kill her again.

"Oh well," Joker sighed. "If you have nothing to offer, then get out of my sight." She grabbed the end of one pigtail and started playing with it as she headed back to the door, head down. Her hand was on the handle when she froze.

"They stopped the zombies from decaying," she blurted out as it popped into her mind. She'd completely forgotten about the inhibitor Dick had injected himself with.

"They what? What does that mean, Harley?" He stood, watching her in the doorway, his fingers pressed to the desk as if holding down a paper in a troublesome breeze.

"They…" She hesitated. Dick probably hadn't told her about it until they actually needed it because of this reason. She was about to betray him to Joker. "... might've made an inhibitor to stop someone from decaying once they're Infected. I'm not sure if it works. Shouldn't one 'a your spies have said something about it if it worked?"

"Not if the Bats haven't said anything about it," he grinned, standing slowly. "This is _perfect._ You did wonderfully, doll."

"Thanks Puddin." She bit her lip and played with the tip of her pigtail.

"Truly brilliant," he praised. "I want it. Their inhibitor- I want it." Any trace of a smile slid off her face.

"You want it? But… we can't just walk into Gotham and ask them to share."

"Not _ask_ them, no," he slid into his seat again, pressing his fingertips together. Harley cocked her head as she studied him.

"You have a plan, don't ya?"

"Nearly, Doll. When do you see him again?" he asked, not looking up.

"Couple days," she shrugged, "if that's alright with you," she added, watching him carefully.

"A little soon," he muttered, and then nodded, "but I think it will work," he grinned, chuckling darkly.

"Okey dokey, Puddin." Harley yawned again and moved back toward the door.

"Harley-doll, I have one last question- where is your old jester costume?" He smiled thoughtfully, pulling a notebook out.

"Oh, um," she stuttered in surprise, "in the closet. Why?"

"Good. Just curious," he shrugged and then waved her away.

"All righty then." Harley hesitated before shaking her head and heading back to the bedroom. She fell across the bed, not even bothering with the covers.

"Harley!" Joker cried, coming into the room after her. "How was Nightwing? Tense? Angry?" He grinned, watching her.

"He was maybe tense." Harley reluctantly propped herself up on her elbows. "Zombies from Arkham isn't exactly a good thing for them, but he was mostly tired. Other than that he was fine."

"Damn. Well I'm not doing anything at the moment," he sat down on the bed with a sly smile. "Care to entertain me?"

"Oh." Harley sat up beside him. "I thought you were plannin' something. And was he supposed ta be angry?"

"Of course," Joker shrugged. "I'll just have to try harder."

"You're trying to make him mad? Why?"

"Because tormenting the Bats is what we do!" He laughed and then looked at her darkly. "Or have you forgotten?"

"No, but he's not Batman." She shrugged and yawned again, laying back down.

"Bad enough the little brats steal my spotlight, now they steal my girl-" he sniffed, smoothing his hair back with a hand. "I ought to wipe the little smears off of the planet." Harley giggled.

"Ya know you're cute when you're jealous," she teased, brushing his hair back into his face. Joker irritably swiped it back again.

"I am _not._ Look at you. Exhausted. We couldn't play if you wanted to," he clicked his tongue in disappointment. Harley's lips pouted.

"He doesn't come up that often. We have all 'a that other time ta play," she taunted.

"All 'a that other time is spent working on the end of the world, Doll," he beamed, leaning over to kiss her. His lips were harsh on hers, not at all like he'd been the other night, and Joker pulled back with a grin. "You reek like him," he sat up, looking down his nose at her.

"I showered," she muttered in defense and grabbed her pigtail again to play with the tip. "I'm sorry I'm… tired if you wanted ta play." She felt bad that he wanted to spend time with her and she was too physically exhausted to be good company. The light from the doorway flashed across his features as he shook his head with a smile.

"But I'm _not_ ," he leaned over her again, a hand coming to rest on her hip. "What do you say, Harley? Feel like _revving_ today? Should we go for a spin?" His voice was a purr against her lips, his touch cold and deliberate on her skin. He watched her with a vicious intensity, calculating, sharp; he had a gleam in his eye that'd made her heart burst into desperate flames of longing the first time they'd met in Arkham Asylum all those years ago.

"Puddin," she gasped, "please." She grabbed his hand. "Maybe tomorrow when I'm-"

"-hush, doll," he whispered harshly, grinning again. "This is what you _always_ want, isn't it? Aren't I what you _always_ want? Whenever I'm _working_ , whenever I'm _busy?!_ Well I'm not busy now," he tore his hand away from hers, laughing cruelly as he pulled her top over her head. He was knelt above her, trapping her against the blankets.

"I'm- I'm sorry," she stuttered, trembling. "I just get bored. I don't mean ta… Please." She used her arms to cover her chest, her eyes pleading with him.

"Oh don't be like that," he clicked his tongue, leaning down to smile at her. "You're not bored now, are you?" Joker's voice was a whisper against her skin. "You do _love me,_ don't you?"

"Of course I do," she defended. She reached out hesitantly and brushed his hair out of his face. "I'm just… I _can't_."

"Excuses," he spat, pulling her shorts down with a smile.

"Mistah J, please," she begged and caught his hands again. She was too sore for this and could see the purple bruises coloring the white skin on her hips. Joker grit his teeth with a grin, laughing down at her.

"Don't you 'Mistah J' me," he hissed, tearing his hands away from her, and then his hands were at her sides, his fingers digging into the bruises. She gasped and her hands balled into fists in the blankets.

"I'm sorry," she breathed. "Please don't."

"Too late for sorry, puddin," he hissed in her ear. "You _wanted_ this." Harley whimpered and turned her head to the side. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the pain the pressure of his fingers pushing against the bruises caused. She felt the cold steel of his knife on her skin suddenly, trailing up her side, and when she whimpered, his hand was over her mouth. Joker laughed cruelly again. She tried to cry out in pain as his hips pressed hard against hers. "Shh, close your eyes, Doll," he hissed, and she pinched them closed tighter, drifting off to the memory of Dick swooping in to save her.

* * *

Jason blinked his eyes open, slowly waking up. He rolled onto his back with a groan, and glanced up to see Ivy. She was sitting cross legged on the foot of the bed gently stroking the petals of one of her plants.

"Did I fall asleep?" Jason asked, rubbing a hand across his eyes.

"No. I put you to sleep," she said simply.

"You…" Jason narrowed his eyes at her. "You drugged me?"

"Well you weren't going to sleep," she gave him a smirk, "and break days are the only chance you have to get some rest."

"So you decided to waste the entire time?"

"Not the entire time," she defended. "Even with all the time you spent messing around on comms instead of starting your break, it was only about half of the time."

"This is the only time I'll be here for days, and you're the one always complaining how bored you are with no one around," he reminded her.

"And you're the one always complaining how tired you are," Ivy retorted. Jason glared at her, and she glared right back.

"Fine," he snapped. "We can't change it now." She grinned and returned her attention to her plant. "What time is it?"

"Almost sunrise." She shrugged. He ran his hand through his hair before propping himself up on his elbows.

"So I was asleep for half a day, and you couldn't find the time to put clothes on?" he asked. She cocked her head, smiling at him through her hair.

"I find this comfortable, as a matter of fact."

"Uh huh," Jason scoffed. "Are you sure it's not to taunt me?"

Her grin widened. "Now why would I do that?"

"Because you're a man eating wolf with green lips," he groaned as he rolled out of bed. Ivy laughed as he went to get a fresh change of clothes from his dresser. "Or rather," he mused as he pulled on a clean pair of pants, "a man eating Venus Flytrap."

"You think the whole plant joke thing is so cute don't you?" she asked.

"No," he stressed, "I think it's adorable." She rolled her eyes.

"City patrol right?"

"Yup." He pulled a plain place shirt over his head. "So I'll be spending half of my time down in the sewers. But maybe Steph'll want to mix schedules up and I can get a break day sooner."

"That's okay. I'll just hang out with Kate on her break."

"You two are close," Jason muttered. He dropped his shoes by the bed and sat down.

"I like her," Ivy shrugged. She prodded the potting soil with her finger.

"She isn't trying to steal you away from me, is she?" Jason teased.

"Yes. You're on to us," she said seriously. "We're having a secret affair."

"Haha," Jason said stiffly.

"We're just friends," Ivy laughed at him. "There's nothing going on." Jason didn't say anything as he laced his boots on. "Are you going to get offended everytime I joke about sleeping with someone?"

"Are you going to sleep with someone?" Jason winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes you did." She turned away, taking her plant back to its resting place in front of the window.

"I'm sorry, but can you understand my worry." She turned to glare at him. "Digging myself a deeper hole," he sighed, "I know."

"No I can't understand it," Ivy snapped. "I expect the general lack of trust from everyone else, but we're…" She trailed off, and they both had that uncomfortable look they only got when they talked about their relationship.

"Okay, but look at who you are and your history."

"So," she crossed her arms and glared at him, "I'm not stupid. Even if I think monogamy is stupid, I know you can't be polygamous in a relationship where someone wants to be monogamous." Jason grinned at her despite her withering look.

"Be mad, but you basically just said you're giving up everyone else just to be with me. And that we're in a relationship."

"Jason!"

"Okay I'm sorry." He looked down but smiled back up at her again. "Is it because I'm just _so_ much better than all of th-" She let out an exasperated noise and turned away. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry," he laughed. She didn't turn around to face him. "I'm sorry," he repeated seriously.

"You don't trust me," she accused, spinning around to stare him down.

"Of course I do," he defended.

"You just implied that I'm going to cheat on-"

"-I didn't mean it like that," Jason cut her off.

" _Yes_ you did!"

"Shit Ivy!" he swore. "You know I'm not good at this. The sex and the flirting I can do, but this part I suck at. And so do you actually."

"You're an ass."

"Thank you. So I'm sorry if I say stupid shit, you know I do it often enough that it's bound to be about you sometimes. I mean I have made it this long." He paused. "Wow we are bad at this, if it's taken us this long to have this conversation."

"Shut up." Ivy rolled her eyes. She walked back over to him. "You're an ass."

"Thank you," he repeated.

"Stop taking it as a compliment."

"Stop meaning it as a compliment," he grinned. She pushed him down onto the bed, straddling his hips.

"Why are you still talking?"

"Just getting warmed up for comms," he laughed. "I have appearances to keep up." She frowned at him.

"You're ruining our time together," she told him.

"Well you're the one who put me to sleep through half of it," he defended, and she sighed in annoyance.

"You're wasting what time we have left," she whispered against his neck, her breath tickling his skin. Even though she'd given him an antitoxin to make him immune to her lethal touch, he still felt a tingling burn where she touched him. He'd grown used to it, and even liked it. Jason grinned and pushed her over, pressing her down onto the bed.

"We have no time left." He kissed her, letting it last too long before he reluctantly pulled away. He stood up, grabbing his comm and putting it in. He scooped his helmet up under his arm as he head to the door. "See you in a few days."

"Ass," Ivy muttered with a smile.

"Thanks, Sweet Pea." He winked before pulling his helmet on and activating his comm. "Hey losers. Am I late or early?" he asked as strolled to the elevators.

"Late," Selina muttered.

"You're fine, Red Hood," Dick assured him. "Alright, where are we all at? I'm a little groggy, so I'm on city, Batman, Catwoman, go get some rest- Robin, is your recruit- _apprentice-?_ Sorry? Is she joining you?"

"Yes, I'm issuing comm and weaponry now," Damian responded.

"Alright, Jane? Can you hear me? Is your communicator working?" Dick asked.

"Well enough to hear you call me recruit," she replied.

"I missed something didn't I?" Jason asked.

"It was an accident please _please_ don't punch me," he answered.

"Red Hood, this is Robin's trainee, Jane."

"Come on, she'll meet everyone eventually," Selina whined. "Where's Batman?"

"I'm on my way to the tower," he sighed.

"Does everyone get a random nickname but me?" Jane asked.

"I like her already," Jason laughed.

"Codenames were given or chosen a long time ago," Nightwing chuckled. "You can start thinking on one if you want. But I suggest doing it quickly before someone inevitably chooses one for you."

"I was kidding. Besides," they could hear the amusement in Jane's voice, "it couldn't be as bad as Nightwing."

"Oh my God," Dick snapped, and they laughed.

"Batman!" Selina demanded, and Dick groaned.

"Please shut her up already, need I remind you, I'm in charge now and you're _all_ supposed to be working," he chided.

"Oh calm down," Selina purred.

"I'm in the building and heading to the elevator," Bruce updated as he walked over and pressed the button for the elevator. "I'm turning my comm off, but keep each other up to speed, and contact me only in the case of an emergency." He stepped in as the doors opened and hit the button for the top floor. "Or else you'll have to answer to Catwoman."

"Yes sir," Nightwing chirped before Bruce turned his comm off. He watched the numbers on the display tick slowly upward. When the elevator finally stopped, he was already moving forward and pulling his cowl off. He headed straight for the bedroom.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Gordon wanted to discuss the sewer situation."

"Aw. Excuses," Selina whispered, rushing up behind him with her speed, covering his eyes. "Hello my love," she kissed his cheek, and then wrapped herself in his cape, giggling a bit. "I'm getting better at sneaking up on you, you know."

"That's because you cheat." He turned around and pulled the edge of the cape toward him, trapping her against his chest. Selina laughed.

"What is it you told me? It's not cheating, it's using all your resources," she beamed, pulling on his belt. Her dark hair fell in waves around her cheekbones, still damp and sweet smelling from her shower. Makeup was smudged around her light eyes, but there was a bruise on her jaw. Bruce held her chin and tilted her face to the side to look at it. He stroked his thumb over it gently.

"What happened?"

"Policeman clipped me on accident with his gun. Saved my life, but I damn near went deaf when he fired right next to me." She shrugged. "Maybe you should come a little closer to tell me how much you love me," she breathed, stroking his cheek.

"You know how much I love you." He kissed her forehead. "And you should tell me when you get clipped by policemen so I can worry too much too."

"That's why I don't tell you, Darling," she smiled up at him, holding his face. "Now come on, Bats. Let's go play," she stepped away and pulled his cape, and he noticed for the first time that she wore a silver sheer nightdress over purple underwear, the clothes hardly covering her. A strap fell off of her shoulder, and the skirt barely brushed the top of her legs. Selina smiled over her shoulder at him.

"Hold on." Bruce caught her arm and pulled her around to face him. "I want to give you this before I forget. You tend to distract me," he chuckled. "I had the boys hunt it down for me a while back." He pulled out a velvet box and cracked it open. Nestled inside was a delicate necklace of white gold and diamonds. "Even I can recognize a Harry Winston, and I would have payed for it if there was anyone to pay but…" He took it out and carefully clasped it around her neck. "Happy anniversary my beautiful wife," he whispered and kissed her cheek. Selina covered her mouth, breathing shakily.

"Bruce, I…" She swallowed hard, closing her eyes to collect herself. She smiled broadly and squeezed his hand, putting up a cool facade as she grabbed his face and kissed his nose. "You know I'm not taking this off," she whispered, beaming. "Now come on. I have a present for you, too."


	39. The One With The Anniversary

Selina stared out the windows at the midday sun. Her stomach turned, and her hand twisted in the pillowcase. She focused on the sunlight warming her face. Her eyes closed, and her stomach knotted again. The more anxious she got, the more she became frustrated with herself for being that way. Opening her eyes again, she stared out at the Gotham skyline. The windows had some kind of tint to them, and she found herself wondering how it worked. How the glass could be so transparent, yet block out all light.

Bruce shifted behind her, and Selina closed her eyes again. She felt his arm slide around her waist. "I dozed off. Why didn't you wake me?" he asked, and Selina didn't move. He took a deep breath. "Selina?"

"I didn't take my pill," she blurted, relieved and terrified at her own little secret truth. She held her breath, stiff in his arms.

"Selina," he sighed and sat up. "We talked about this. You can't just… What were you thinking?"

"I don't know," she sighed slowly, pinching her eyes closed.

"You…" He wrapped his arms back around her waist and pulled her up against his chest. "You can't just do that. Not because I'm telling you what to do, but because it's my decision too."

"Just like it will be your decision when you die," Selina breathed, her muscles tensing as she stared at the windows. "And leave me all alone."

"Hey," he lifted her chin up to make her look at him, "how many times do I have to say it? I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't know that for sure!" She snapped, turning away from him. "I just… I feel so… empty. This is never going to end. And you're going to leave me again, and you'll get hurt, and then you'll _die_ , and I won't be able to do a damn thing to help you. I'm utterly useless in the state I'm in, and I just-" her voice cracked, and she closed her eyes- "I want something I can be good at. I'm so far behind all of you, saving the world, I just don't want to be stuck in your shadows alone. I want a part of you with me so I can… Can…. Can be a terrible mother and ruin his life too-" she burst into tears, burying her face in the pillow as she cried. Her depression came and went, but it hadn't been this bad since she tried taking her own life. He pulled her back against him, cradling her in his arms.

"It's okay," he breathed. "And you could never be considered useless." He stroked her hair. "I know you really want a baby, but that's just so much added worry. And you know how dangerous being pregnant is with the world the way it is." She cried harder, rolling over and burying her face in his neck.

"I can't stop you, I can't help you, and I can't save you," she whispered. "What use am I?"

This was always- and _never-_ about a baby. The necklace was still around her throat, glittering in the dim sunlight. It had been a year. A _whole year_. They'd gotten married after all of this misery had begun, and she hadn't realized it had been a year; living day to day, always worrying about him, about everyone she loved, without reprieve. Day in and day out; anxiety that one of them wouldn't come home. After all that time, what felt like ages worrying, it had only been a year. Now Tim was Infected, and it had only been _one year._ She hadn't thought about it until he brought up their anniversary. "How many more years will I have to spend waiting to hear that you've been killed? That any of us have?" she asked, voicing her thoughts quietly, her throat burning. "I just want it all to end."

"I'm sorry," he told her, holding her tight. "I'm so sorry." He kissed the top of her head. He hated that he couldn't just fix what was making her sad. "I hate that there's nothing I can do. Until there's a cure, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to fix this."

"What if we never do? You won't have a baby with me- Humanity is going to die with our generation," she breathed, trembling. "What if this is really it?"

"It isn't." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back to stare at her. "If you know anything about me, you know I won't let that happen."

"Maybe it's not up to you," she stared at him, pale eyes wide and hollow. Selina looked down. "The League, Alfred, Maggie, now Tim- how many civilians- we're just dying slowly. You couldn't stop it before. We're disappearing, Bruce," she breathed.

"Selina." He tilted her chin up to look at her. "I won't let anything happen to me or to you. I won't."

"I'm sorry," she looked away from him again, sitting up. "I know it's our anniversary, I know we don't see each other often… but I just want to be alone right now."

"Nope." He laid down and pulled her on top of of him. "I _don't_ want to be alone. I have to leave much too soon and I refuse to let you leave."

"Bruce, I'm not joking," she warned, watching him in confusion.

"Neither am I," he said completely seriously. "The next time you complain that we don't see each other enough or get sad when I have to leave, I'll remind you of this moment."

"I don't complain that much," she said quietly, knowing she was lying. Still, she wanted to pretend it was true.

"Well not nearly as much as Dick when he was eleven," Bruce agreed. "Or Jason when he came back from the dead."

Selina smiled a little, tucking her head under his chin. "Tell me more about what it was like when they were younger," she closed her eyes.

"If I had to pick one word to describe all of them when I first met them… Dick was chatty. Jason was… scrappy." He chucked at the word. "Tim was determined, and Damian was surly." He rested his head against hers. "The girls were a completely different story and I'm not sure I understand even now." He kissed her head. "And you were special," he whispered. Selina sighed slowly. The anxiety in her stomach was gone, and she shook her head.

"I don't know how you do that," she muttered. She was calm again, her grim mood lifting in his arms. "Bruce?" He brushed her hair out of her face and tilted his head to look at her.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I know you will save us." She looked in his eyes, pursing her lips. "And whatever happens, we'll be okay, right?"

"I promise." He leaned in to kiss her, savoring every second of it before leaning away again. "And you weren't lying when you said you weren't taking that necklace off."

"I don't lie, Batman," she muttered, just a hint of her old self in her voice again. She detected it as well, looking away shyly as she smiled a little and ran her hand over his chest hair. The necklace sparkled in the daylight, the color making her light skin seem lighter and her tousled dark hair seem darker. "Why. Do you _want_ me to take it off?" She smiled up at him. It was forced, but she was trying.

"Not so long as nothing else is being put on." He kissed her cheek. "I want to make you happy without you having to try so hard," he added, his lips on her skin.

"It takes effort just to smile, sweetheart," she closed her eyes, stroking his cheek. "But you do make it easier."

"I guess that's all I can ask for," he sighed. He laced his fingers with hers. "Anything else I can do to make it easier?"

"You do just fine," Selina sighed quietly, laying her head on his shoulder. She watched a bird fly past the windows.

"What about Ivy? You could take a shift off and spend some time with her," he suggested.

"No, she and Jason spend most of their time together." She suddenly perked up a bit. "But Dick let me see Harley," she told him, smiling. "That was nice." Bruce leaned his head back.

"Of course he did." He glanced back up at her. "And how was she?"

"She was… different. I've never seen her like that Bruce. You should see her, it's like she's really… I don't know- she's changed. I think she needs him." Selina watched Bruce's face, tracing little circles on his chest with her finger.

"I hope you're right." He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers. "But if it's alright with you, I don't think I'll trust her. Lot of past experience."

"You had a lot of past experience with me," she reminded him, watching his face as she smiled.

"I'd like to think we have a lot of good past experience," he defended. He lifted her hand up and kissed the inside of her wrist. Selina closed her eyes.

"But not before. We were just like them, once," she breathed. Her hand slid into his hair.

"Minus the one small detail of the Joker. Unless there's something you want to tell me?" He gave her an amused smile, his hand running down her side to her hip. Her heart leapt when he smiled.

"You know, I _did_ have a guy on the side for a while, back when we were just fooling around- but I don't think Jason's into that anymore," she laughed, smirking at him. He shot her a look.

"That's not funny."

"Oh, it's a little funny, sourpuss," she purred, tracing his lips with her finger. "I promise I never laid a hand on your little angels. There were others, but none of them like you." Even now, their chemistry was palpable in the air. It always had been. There was too much between them to ignore; a lust that had been there since they'd first laid eyes on each other, and a love that had been there since they'd first shared a bed. "There is no one like you, Bruce Wayne." He kissed her finger.

"And there's no one like you, Selina Wayne. I love you."

"I love you too, I suppose," she smiled a little, and then took his face in her hands and kissed him slowly.

"Then I suppose that'll have to do." He pulled her close and smiled against her lips. Selina kept her eyes closed, her hands trailing up his shoulders and into his hair. Her necklace fell against his chest where she lay on him.

"I never tire of hearing you say that, either," she smiled, giving him a quick kiss, and then another.

"Wait." He leaned his face back. "Didn't you want to be alone?"

"You changed my mind," she smiled, but then she stood and plucked her robe off of the floor. Sheer, deep violet silk fell over her curves, hiding her pale skin from the daylight.

"It doesn't seem like I changed your mind." Bruce propped himself up on his elbows as he watched her. She smiled slyly and turned towards him, reaching a hand out to take his. She pulled him into a sitting position and bent over to kiss his lips for a moment before smiling again.

"I'm getting hungry, and I think we could do with an early anniversary dinner," she said quietly. The robe was tied loosely, hardly covering her chest, and the length barely met the top of her legs.

"And what are we having?" He stood up with her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Dunno," she shrugged a bit. "But I had three hours while you slept to make something, so I think you'll be surprised," Selina giggled a bit, walking to the door and leaving him standing by the windows. "Put… something on, if you want to, and come out here," she smiled, her eyes hungrily looking his body up and down before she disappeared through the door. Bruce went over to the closet and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before following her out.

"Selina?"

"Over here," she called from the small kitchen in their penthouse. When he walked in the door, the smell hit him first. It was like coming home when he was young, bruised from another schoolyard fight, only to have Alfred set him on the kitchen counter to clean him up; it was walking into the Batcave after a long night, Alfred usually nowhere to be seen, with a covered dish placed on his computer console… "I know it's not steak, and it may not be great. I've never made tomato soup from scratch before?" She chuckled nervously, her hands clasped in front of her chest. "But it was… here." She slid a small book across the island towards him, still smiling. "I found it in the kitchen when Damian and I went back."

Bruce wordlessly picked up Alfred's cookbook, flipping through the pages of neat handwriting until he came to the tomato soup recipe. The words 'Wayne family favorite' with two stars were scrawled across the top of the page.

"I hope it's okay," she smiled again, watching him carefully. The preparation time on the top of the page said an hour. She hadn't slept at all. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close.

"Thank you," he murmured into her hair. Selina smiled gently and held him tight.

"You're welcome my love," she breathed. "Now come on, I'm hungry," she pulled him to the barstools at the island, spooning soup into a bowl for him. After getting one for herself, she circled around and sat beside him, scooting her stool closer. "I thought he'd want to celebrate our anniversary, too. Even if he wasn't there for the wedding," she smiled a little, tasting it.

"This is perfect." He kissed her cheek. "Thank you," he said again as he ate a couple more bites.

"You're welcome," she smiled lovingly at him. It tasted just like Alfred had made it.

"It reminds me of him. It reminds me of before the world was like this," he told her. "And so do you. You remind me of all the reasons I need to stay strong, Selina, and I couldn't save the world without you. Thank you," he said seriously. Selina smiled sheepishly and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Good. I need you to stay strong, too, and I wish I could be stronger for you," she watched him happily.

"I don't need you to be stronger. I just need you." He kissed her cheek again. "And maybe this soup every now and again."

"Well I'll provide any way I can," she giggled, standing to wrap her arms around his shoulders. "Have to keep my Batman strong to save the world." Selina kissed his neck gently, closing her eyes. She liked feeling this way. It was safe. Homey. He pulled her onto his lap.

"You also need to keep me strong enough to boss me around."

"Of course," she grinned. "After all, I _am_ the only one who knows that Batman needs a firm handler," she giggled, her hands twisting in his hair.

"I don't think anyone else would be up for the job," he agreed. Selina shifted so that her legs hung around his waist from where she sat on his lap, and she kissed his neck gently before resting her head on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes. He shifted her so he could still eat his soup.

"I love you too." He set his spoon down to brush her hair behind her ear. "And happy anniversary."

Selina smiled happily, tucking her face into his neck. She couldn't stop herself from wondering how many more they would have. "Happy anniversary, Bruce."

* * *

Harley finished toweling off after her bath. She could hear the water running down the drain as she dried her hair. She was about to wrap the towel around her when she hesitated. Lowering it, she looked at herself in the mirror. Dark bruises peppered over the older ones on her hips and thighs, and there was a collection of bite marks and hickeys up her chest and neck. The J carved above her heart was healed enough to no longer need a bandage, and she's cut the stitches out. The wound looked still jagged and a little swollen, but she had a feeling that'd be a permanent byproduct of the infection. She'd used all the medication Dick had given her despite being tempted to not bother with them once the symptoms had subsided. She sighed and covered herself with the towel.

Humming to herself as she went into the bedroom, she started getting dressed. She paused again when she noticed her old jester costume was missing. After a second, she went back to digging around for clean clothes. The elevator rattled in the living room, and she guessed Crane had just arrived. She started pulling her hair up into its signature pigtails when she could hear the voices swell in the living room. Frowning, she finished with her hair and peeked out of the bedroom.

"What's goin on?"

"I mean, this is _insane_ , even for y-" Crane looked up at Harley, glancing at Joker to discern if he would allow him to speak.

"We found the connection in the sewers," Joker beamed. Today seemed to be a natural day, his colorless face flushed in the cheeks a bit, green hair falling back from his face. He seemed less… Villainous in the daylight. The sleeves of his jumpsuit were tied around his waist, and his purple tank top contrasted his light skin pleasantly. He seemed… Human. "We found it, Harley."

"That sounds… fun." She didn't get the appeal. She wouldn't be allowed to use it anyway. Joker looked disappointed at her lack of enthusiasm.

"Finish getting dressed, and I'll explain," he waved a hand at her. Harley went and grabbed a hoodie, zipping it up as she headed back into the living room.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"He's not going to do _anything_ ," Crane snapped, looking pointedly at Joker. "This is crazy. Out of _your_ league crazy, even," he insisted. Joker ignored him, rubbing his hands together gleefully as he laughed.

"We're going to attack them. I want that decay inhibitor," he grinned. Harley stared at him.

"But we don't even know if it works!"

"They invented it. Whether it works or not, they're going to figure it out, and I want to slow them down. If it does work, then bully for us," he grinned. Crane cried out in exasperation.

"No! What you want to _do_ is insane! The zombies are nowhere near ready, I've only scratched the surface with the hypnosis, and this is just plain _reckless!_ It's too dangerous!" he shouted, and Joker rolled his eyes.

"Don't get so dramatic, Scarecrow. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were afraid," he laughed.

"Damn straight I'm afraid," he muttered, crossing his arms. "This is never going to work."

"And," Harley chimed in, "what if it's a trap? They've been looking for the opening too. What if they found it and are waiting for us to try something?"

"If they'd already found it, we'd have known," he assured her with a sly smile. "And we _will_ know if they do before I can put my plan into action."

"Okay," Harley couldn't help but smile. His excitement got infectious when he had a plan, "and how will you know?"

"If Nightwing asks you about it, then they found it," Joker assured her. "Now. Crane-"

"- _no_ ," Scarecrow snapped. Joker's jaw tightened and he took a deep breath. Crane remained unmoved, watching Joker evenly. "This will not work."

"You're trying my patience now," Joker hissed, his hands clenching into fists.

"If Nightwing asks?" Harley drew his attention back. "What is he asking? And…" she trailed off. "Today?" She glanced out the window. It was still dark, but sunrise wouldn't be too far off. Then it was Dick's break day.

"You'll know, Doll," he chuckled. "But I need you to do something next time you see him."

"Anything," she agreed readily before instantly regretting it.

"We _need_ information from him," he insisted carefully, watching her. "And you have to incapacitate him. Tie him up, kill him, exhaust him- whatever you have to do. You see him in two days, correct?"

"No. He, uh, wants to meet today." She glanced at Crane before back at him. "Do I have to?"

" _Today?!_ " Joker cried in surprise, and he ran his hands through his hair. "Oh, we'll have to push up our schedule- we'll have to go tonight- I have to get to work-" he muttered, biting his nails a bit and grinning excitedly.

"What- tonight!?" Crane snapped, balling his fists. "No. No way."

"They'll be ready. Everyone will be ready," Joker pressed, and Scarecrow shook his head. "We have the sewer plans. We'll be fine."

"Do I have to go see Nightwing? Can I stay here and help instead?" Harley asked. She wanted to help Joker, but she didn't want to betray Dick. She'd already told Joker about the decay inhibitor that was driving this plan, and that would hurt Dick enough when he found out.

" _Yes,_ Harley," Joker insisted in exasperation. "If you get him out of the way, Batman _and_ the Red Hood are out of the way as well. If we attack at sunset, they'll both be well into their distractions, and by the time they've realized what we're doing, they'll be scrambling to catch up!" he laughed, beaming at her, before his face contorted angrily. "And you'll do as you're told," he added. She crossed her arms over her chest as she looked down.

"You know it's not fair ta ask me ta do this," she breathed.

"Fair? Asking you?" Joker laughed out loud. "Doll, I'm telling you. I'm _telling_ you that you aren't going to like the consequences if you betray _me_ any more than you already have," he snapped. Harley turned away. She set her jaw and tried not to let her eyes water.

"What…" she paused to make sure her voice wouldn't crack, "information am I supposed to get?"

"Learn whether they've found the tunnel. And make sure he doesn't get back up. For the night or for the rest of time, I don't _care_." He watched her, eyes narrowed. "And Harley." She took a deep breath and turned to look at him, her face impassive. "I'm proud of you," he looked at her, crossing his arms. "Your love clearly isn't mine anymore, and though I don't like it, I can imagine how- difficult- this is. Not to say that I don't enjoy it. I can just see the difficulty."

"Oh you're proud of me?" Harley laughed. "Well that makes one of us." She didn't look at him or Crane as she walked back into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Batgirl sat up suddenly, hastily wiping drool off of her face. She glanced at her notes taken in ink, and she wiped her face even more in hopes that she hadn't gotten the writing on her face.

"Ugh, I need to sleep," she muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes under her cowl. She pulled it off in annoyance and put her glasses on, hiding her face in her hair. She blinked as she tried to focus on what she'd been working on. It was the analysis of the initial Infected they'd used as test subjects for the decay inhibitor. I'd taken a while for them to notice that Tim wasn't decaying, and by the time they had and been able to recreate enough the serum to begin testing, it had been weeks, and the initial reports were just getting in despite them using the decay inhibitor on most of the Infected. They'd been hopeful Tim wasn't a fluke, and so far it was looking positive.

The only hiccup they were running into was the fact that when the Infected decayed, they were metabolizing their own muscles and fat. By stopping them from decaying, the Infected needed to eat that much more, and they didn't exactly have an easy food source for them.

"Did I get the second report?" Barbara muttered to herself as she leafed through the pages on her desk.

"No, but that's because I was afraid you'd drool on it." TJ set the report on her desk as he grinned. Barbara blushed. Since Tim had been Infected, TJ had been helping her out by trying to pick up where he'd left off. She appreciated him helping to cover the work, but unlike Tim, he'd answer her when she talked to herself.

"Oh thanks."

"You don't take your mask off that often," he commented, and she instinctively hid behind her hair.

"Yeah, we're… Not supposed to," she frowned, taking it into her hands and looking at it. "Do you have the second report for me? Now that I'm not… Drooling," she yawned and looked up at him.

"You should take a break because I literally just set it on your desk in front of you." He pointed at the file. "How long has it been since you slept?"

"I don't know. I don't remember the last time I ate, even," she sighed.

"You work yourself too hard," he told her. "Is that a thing for you Bats?"

"Essentially, yeah," Barbara chuckled. "What about you? You always seem to be here when I am, too."

"Yeah well… uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, there's not much else to do."

Barbara watched him, smiling a little. "That _is_ true," she amended, smiling as she leaned forward against her desk. "Where are you from, TJ?"

"Gotham born and raised." He shrugged. "Never lived anywhere else and never wanted to."

"Nice," she chuckled, watching him again. "My name is Barbara. Its nice to meet you, TJ."

"Just because I didn't know your name doesn't mean I don't know you," he laughed. "You're the same person."

"You don't… _know_ me," she blushed, smiling as he leaned against her desk.

"Fine I don't know you," he grinned. "But we both need to eat, so how about we go-"

"-Babs! Er- Batgirl," Nightwing called as he crossed the labs towards them. He looked out of breath, his hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Right." TJ looked at Dick before glancing back at Barbara. "You two… uh, have fun." His cheeks were a little pink as he headed back to his station. Dick glanced at him, and then back at Barbara.

"Was I interrupting something? I mean, I don't want to interrupt, if you're busy," he bit his lip, stopping beside her desk.

"No…" She watched TJ for a second before refocusing on Dick, "it's nothing. What do you want?" She leaned back in her chair and stretched, yawning a little.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," he said quietly, and his brow furrowed. "You look tired."

"Surprisingly, girls don't want to hear that," she told him.

"I just mean you should rest," he sighed and shook his head. "I'll just go, if you don't want to see me. It's not like you've been avoiding me, or anything. But… We should talk. And you should get some sleep."

"No, no it's fine." She sat back up. "What's going on?"

"That's what I was going to ask you," Dick said quietly, sitting down in a chair beside her desk.

"The, uh, primary reports on the decay inhibitor are looking good," she gestured to the papers scattered across her desk, "but we're not any closer to the cure." She rubbed her eyes behind her glasses.

"I'm sure you'll get it," he said with a sigh. "Are _you_ okay? Are we?"

"Yeah, I think. I just… It's weird." She shuffled the papers around on her desk.

"What is?" Dick watched her, tempted to take his mask off, but he sat still.

"I don't know," she sighed. "You're seeing the Joker's girlfriend. You're sleeping with the enemy. What do you even expect to happen with that relationship?"

"I don't know, Babs," he said truthfully, his eyes still fixed on her.

"It's just weird, okay? I just expect you to show up dead everytime you go see her."

"I know. Maybe I do, too," he confessed, looking down. "I think… I think some part of me feels like she can be saved. Maybe if I just… Maybe it will turn out like Selina and Bruce, or like Jason and Ivy. It worked for them… Maybe it could work for me too."

"She already has the Joker, Dick," Barbara reminded him. "She's not looking to be saved."

"Don't say that," he shook his head, leaning back in his chair. He knew that already, he just didn't want to admit it. Hearing it out loud was even worse.

"I don't know what you want me to say." She sighed. "Did you want something? Or are you just here for this painful conversation?"

"I just… My feelings aside- how are _you_? I want to know if you're ok. I mean… none of us have had a chance to really think about what happened to Tim. You're stuck here…" He looked around the lab. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Barbara assured him. "It sucks, but it only makes me more determined. And with Batman in here more often, everyone is working as hard as they can. I may be a little overworked, but so is anyone."

Dick looked down guiltily, biting his lip. "Yeah. I guess we all are."

"Is that pained expression because Selina is covering your shifts? You slacker." She smiled a little.

"I know. Yeah, I do, I feel like shit, honestly. I'm trying," he shrugged, and then covered his face.

"What?" she demanded. "You can't come in here and interrogate me without getting the third degree in return. What's going on?"

Dick looked taken aback, opening his mouth to answer before looking down at his hands. "I _do_ feel awful, yes, trying to do my _job_ and keep shifts up when we're all stretched so thin," he admitted quickly, his cheeks burning.

"Well I know Bruce feels the same. Just look how rarely he takes his breaks." Barbara shrugged. "And you been on break for what, _five_ whole minutes? Relax."

"I'm sorry," he looked away, his eyes trailing around the labs. "I just feel like I'm failing you all," he sighed, leaning his head in his hands again.

"Why?" She laughed a little. "No seriously. _Why_? Why do you feel like you're failing us? How does that even cross your mind?"

"Because I abandon my shifts for- for a girl that you _all_ tell me is bad news, that _I_ know is bad news- I shouldn't abandon my family for that," he watched her, his lips twisting in a frown. "Why- is that funny?"

"Because do you know how long your brothers have been waiting for you to _finally_ do _something_ wrong? Everyone feels like a screw up compared to you, so no one really minds if you make a few mistakes. It's almost unnatural how perfect you are sometimes."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," he smirked.

"No. Just know that no one thinks any less of you when you mess up." She smiled at him.

"Except when I mess up, I mess up royally," he rubbed the back of his neck. Dick smiled back at her. "Oh!" he gasped, smiling broader. "I do have something for you, in case you were still angry with me-" he pulled several Kit-Kat bars out of his belt pocket.

"Suck up," she muttered as she snatched one from him and ripped it open. "Who says I can be bribed?" she asked as smiled and popped a piece into her mouth.

"It's not a bribe, it's a peace offering. Which is both the same and different, if you think about it. Fun fact, the Nazis were offered Kit-Kats for a cease fire. I don't think they took them," he smiled, leaning back in his chair.

"So I'm better than a Nazi? Sweet." She finished off the rest of the Kit-Kat pieces and threw the wrapper away.

"Only by a little," Dick smirked at her, emptying another pocket of candy onto her desk.

"I thought you wanted me _not_ to be mad at you," she reminded him with a smile. "And this is most certainly bribery."

"Okay so it's bribery," he laughed a little, watching her.

"Well it's working," she laughed.

"Good," Dick smiled, looking around the labs. "I don't know how you do it, cooped up in here. When was the last time you saw daylight?"

"Oh didn't you know? I turned into a vampire _weeks_ ago." She smiled before yawning again. Dick frowned a little.

"You _really_ should take a break," he pressed. "You don't look so good. Some sleep would be good for you- just grab a couple hours," Dick leaned forward, taking her glasses off and examining her eyes.

"Well aren't you supposed to be on break?" she reminded him. "I'll grab a couple hours if you do."

"I think I can do that," he stood and then kissed her head. "Promise me you'll get some rest, Babs," he said quietly, looking down at her.

"What? You're not going to make sure I do?" she teased. Dick bit his lip.

"No, I um… I'm going to see Harley on my breaks now," he said awkwardly. "To cut down on my time spent away in shifts." _I hate this. I hate this so much_ , he thought, gnawing on his lip anxiously. "Just get some sleep, ok?"

"Right." She ducked her face behind her hair to try and hide her blushing. "Yeah, okay."

He wanted to apologize, but he didn't know what he'd be apologizing for. He wanted to stay with her, but Harley was waiting. Dick closed his eyes and sighed quietly. "See you later, Babs," he smiled a little, before kissing her head again and walking to the lab doors. She played with the ends of her hair as she watched him go. Wanting to follow after him, she forced herself to stay in her seat. She glanced over at TJ, but he was looking determinedly at his work. Sighing, she leaned her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands.

"Just be careful, Dick," she muttered to herself.


End file.
